Tom Dale

Renowned local bluesman, songwriter and guitarist.

At the age of 21, Tom co-founded 4-piece blues outfit Sugarland Slim, achieving early success as the band quickly pricked up the ears of the UK blues scene. Regularly appearing as featured artists in Blues in Britain magazine, the band has shared the stage with such blues greats as Peter Green, Paul Jones & Dave Kelly and Dr Feelgood.

In 2005, Tom moved to Penzance as a street musician with his beaten-up National Triolian and was quickly embraced and put to work by the vibrant local music scene.

Immersing himself in old-time traditional music, Tom has developed a mastery of slide guitar, fingerpicking and open tunings on his National Resonator, clawhammer banjo, fiddle and pre-war tongue-blocked harmonica, along with a powerful and honest singing style that draws heavily on his blues, gospel and mountain music influences. With a voracious appetite for traditional songs and styles, he brings a deep understanding of the history of the music he plays to every performance.

Over the years Tom has developed a passion for luthiery, building box fiddles and guitars from reclaimed materials and driftwood, biscuit-tin banjos and dulcimers, bamboo fifes etc for himself and other local musicians, occasionally bringing them along to gigs and recording sessions.

A gifted songwriter, Tom has performed and recorded many of his own compositions, and with this experience and understanding of songcraft, brings his own unique flavour to his vast repertoire of traditional songs.

Currently sticking to his old-time blues roots, melting banjo and fiddle techniques into his guitar and harmonica style, Tom will play anything from Mississippi Blues to Murder Ballads, lullabies to Leadbelly, his own songs and more. Performing with his resonator, hat, kazoo and bandolier of harmonicas, he will play and sing and tap his foot with the easy charm of an old-time songster.

To hear a taster go to https://youtu.be/_2hDg8RFbRA or https://tomdalemusic.co.uk