Shrewsbury, Birmingham dates for Tom Baxter
Singer/songwriter Tom Baxter is playing both Shrewsbury and Birmingham in support of his first official release in a decade, the highly acclaimed The Other Side of Blue.
It was in 2008 that Tom brought out the self-funded Skybound, the follow-up to the 2004 debut Feather & Stone, which first alerted the wider world to his talent. Since then, he's released one fan-only album, travelled the world, been through plenty of soul-searching and emerged at the other end with what his team describe as 'possibly his best ever work'.
Baxter is known for tracks such as Better, Almost There and Day in Verona, songs which have won acclaim from his peers - Tom Waits, Rufus Wainwright and Gary Barlow are known to be fans - and Tom has been covered by the likes of Dame Shirley Bassey and Boyzone.
But behind the scenes, it has been a tumultuous 10 years for Tom. He married the long-time girlfriend for whom he wrote the Ivor Novello Award-nominated Better, but then endured a divorce and, more recently, was happily remarried. Along the way, he lived in Devon, travelled to India, Los Angeles, Spain and then to Brazil, the place he says inspired him to find the impetus to write again.
Speaking about The Other Side of Blue, Tom said: “I feel like I've been through a very slow metamorphosis over the years. Even I'm not sure into what, but I can say I'm calmer inside, and I thought it was time for a full-on new release.
“There's no bells or whistles. Just me, myself and I, with absolutely nowhere to hide.”
Fans interested in hearing that metamorphosis for themselves can catch Tom at Shrewsbury's Henry Tudor House on October 21 and then at Birmingham's Glee Club on November 7. Tickets are available from the venues.
