Tom McRae

Tom McRae is an artist that I had just picked up before he came to town and I felt lucky that he was coming to town after I discovered him because I could get a feel of how he was live. I had been listening to King of Cards for a good amount of time and as I expected Tom played many songs off of this. I was excited to see him come on stage and greet us. He seemed like a very nice man and was humble that here in America we welcomed him so much. He had a plain shirt on with a suit jacket over it and his big guitar around his shoulder. As he began to stroke the guitar strings and sing we were all moved by how great his voice sounded. The venue was large and perfect for him but did not have any flashy lights or anything. For an artist like Tom I felt that this was good because they are not needed. Tom was not performing music that would get us dancing and going but more so put us in a relaxed and good mood. All of the songs that he played sounded so great and I could not believe that the man had such a clear and strong voice with no help from any electronic equipment. Tom had guitar picks on his microphone stand and he threw a few of them into the crowd. I always appreciate when an artist does this because it shows they want the fans to really remember the concert. Even though I did not get a guitar pick from Tom, I still will remember his show for a long time.

Tom McRae, is a singer songwriter from Essex, in England who has been on the scene for over fifteen years now, having released a large number of singles and EPs to date. He sports a sort of soft-rock sound where he accompanies himself on the acoustic guitar. This indie folk songwriter has even gained himself a Mercury Music Prize Nomination.

When he performs live, he always has the attention of the full crowd that he is performing to, and he demonstrated this fantastically when I had the pleasure of seeing him in London last year. He performed all of the best songs from his career with songs such as “Draw Down the Stars” and “I Ain’t Scared of Lightening”. Every song tells a story, each one being one that is captivating and enchanting to listen to. The best received song of the set is one called “You Cut Her Hair”, which he places perfectly at the end of the set, earning himself an applause big enough for him to come back on stage to perform “The Boy With the Bubblegun”

On of the best intimate shows I've been to.
Tom is an amazing artist, ask Marian Faithful to whom he writes songs to…
He builds up the show using the crowd voices abd participation.

It was a great show and I would gladly go to again.