Having followed the social media pages of rising musician Tom A Smith for the past couple of years, I know from his posts and occasional dm’s that this 19 year old man is driven by trying to do the very best he can, and squeezing the most of everything life has to offer. 

This stellar live performance at Leeds Hyde Park Book Club in November 2023, followed that Tom A Smith mantra to a tea.

Song after song wove a rich tapestry of inspiration, of trying your very best, being true to yourself, or feeling really down when things haven’t gone quite as planned, or musing and worrying that things aren’t going to work out. There are very real emotions we can relate to in the Tom A Smith songbook, which is why Tom can speak for so many.

Tom A Smith needn’t sweat it so hard, on tonight’s performance he and his band were absolutely perfect. The audience was to a person well up for a great and memorable night, and we absorbed it whole. There’s not many gigs where there is 100% pure good will, positive vibes and love in the room. This was one such.

That all said, there were some amusing moments, not least towards the start of the set when guitarist Dylan Abbott lost 3 guitar strings, with them dangling from a trashed guitar, glistening in the lights like a mad aerial slug trail. Toronto has never quite sounded like this; a unique never to be repeated 3 string rendition.

Tom took no prisioners with light hearted banter at Dylan’s expense.  Karma came through soon enough though and bit Tom on the bum; on the closer, the iconic Dragonfly, he lost one of his strings.  How many times in a set have you seen 4 strings go?

Likewise, the sound system mix made Dylan’s keys occasionally sound a little like a squeaky child organ, much to the amusement of the band. It all gave an extra human warmth to the set, sharing those moments.

Considering Tom A Smith released his first single, Wolves, just two years ago, the 75 minute set contained banger after banger.  Wolves was the Tom A Smith song which made me sit up and listen back when it was released, so it was a total treat to hear its savage commentary on how the government treated the vulnerable during covid, once again. Lest we forget.

Tom and his band have been playing live music pretty constantly throughout the year.  It seems they have been keen to pick up as much experience as possible, by picking up what they can. It has clearly worked, as the result is a musically tight and sharp unit as a band.

Tom has in the past told me that he aims to produce a new song a day while he’s at home; an incredible drive, work ethic and creativity that pays dividends.

It was also clear the foursome on stage (Frazer Graham is on drums, and Katie Anderson on bass to make up the band), were clearly enjoying and loving every moment.  

My gig companion Duncan remarked at the end that the set had given him some vibe for Marc Bolan and T Rex.  While the music of Bolan is intrinsically different, and two generations apart, I did agree with the sentiment.  There’s a similar instinct for a solid rocker and a catchy hook, and that similar sense of variety between the songs;  some are quiet sensitive ballads, some pure rock and roll, and others are more still let your hair down frantic.

Tom has said he doesn’t understand why he might be generically labelled indie, and again this set gave a strong sense of variety, and a more solid sensitivity, than that simple indie label might suggest.  

There were a couple of surprises in the set list too; Losing My Grip, a frantic song about losing his touch which is featured on Tom’s limited release (50 copies) Demos Volume 1. Then there was the beautifully emotional I’d Love To Feel Happy Before I Feel Old, a song Tom wrote and performed to a packed Glasto field of 6,000 in the summer, a number of fans few anticipated. There was the slower paced The Worst is Yet To Come which hasn’t usually been played live as the piano parts on the track needed to be rearranged for a piano free stage.

Boltcutters and I’d Love To Feel Happy were performed solo, while support Tom Abisgold joined the band to do Tom’s guitar part on Never Good Enough. A welcome live version of Swedish House Mafia’s Don’t You Worry Child which Tom makes into his own, also got an airing tonight.

His supports on this evening also veered away from that indie badge, Tom Abisgold (formerly part of young Britain’s Got Talent 2019 band Chapter 13 – but please don’t let that colour you bad) was the opening act, with a more modern poppy sound than I usually listen to, and a scribbled pen on shirt look which recalled the last day at school, but with unbounded talent and a likable confidence.

I can very much see this Tom going far too, and it felt he was on an apprenticeship here.

Then Cammy Barnes had a rich storytelling instinct and the voice of a god. Unfortunately my beloved had an ankle fail (broke it last year) so we sat out most of his set while her pain eased, but I slipped down for a song or two, so could see how spellbound the audience was by Cammy.

Tom A Smith is (at the point of publishing) 9 dates into his debut national tour; with gigs ongoing til December 9^th. His next tour will see bigger venues and Tom more distant; there are a few unsold tickets dotted about the country, so do yourself a favour, check out Tom’s socials, pick a date and drop in on the UK’s next hottest act.

* words and images by tiggerligger