Tom Pevear – Live in Concert at Gotahold Brewing!
‘You don’t truly know how to play a song until you’ve played it in front of people. Even if there is only one other person watching,’ says Bostonian turned Okie guitar player and singer Tom Pevear. “Old blues, folk, gospel and country songs are living breathing things, in that they are passed down from person to person for each musician to leave a mark on.
Released in September 2023, Pevear’s debut EP is filled with six of his favorite songs to perform. Each pays homage to various versions of the song while his interpretations are uniquely his own. ‘I’m always listening to music, and when I hear a song that I might want to learn, it’s like the hair on my neck stands up! I have to get to my guitar and start working it out. I’ll listen to every version of the song I can find, add my own influence, and just see where I end up. Im always working on new songs, and adding pieces to ones I’ve played for years’.
A Pevear set will include his arrangements of songs from artists as diverse as Ray Charles, Mose Allison, Rev. Gary Davis, and The Delmore Brothers, alongside orginals and classic songs taught to him by mentors like Jorma Kaukonen, Roy BookBinder, Tom Feldmann and Frank Fotusky.
‘I’ve been very lucky to be able to meet and learn from the generation of musicians who were around in 1960’s when all these great songs were being dug up, and many of the musicians who recorded them were still alive and active. It’s been a true blessing in my life’
Pevear has played at iconic venues like the Mercury Lounge and The Colony in Tulsa, Magnolia Motor Lounge in Ft. Worth, and the Larimer Lounge in Denver, and opened for acts like Matt Tedder, Nik Parr, Kind Hearted Strangers and John Fullbright. He plays over 100 shows a year, touring regularly around Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Colorado, Arkansas, and Texas, and in 2024 will make his first trips both to the Twin Cities area and his home state of Massachusetts.