Tom McRae

British singer-songwriter Tom McRae with his regular touring musicians: The Standing Band, has been quietly moving up the ranks of the most respected songwriters in the world today after releasing 6 critically acclaimed studio albums over the last 15 years and writing for a variety of artists and singers.

McRae’s eponymous debut album in 2000 was nominated for a The Mercury Prize, a Q Magazine Award, and a Brit, and the subsequent two years of touring cemented his reputation as one the most entertaining and powerful artists touring today.

Just Like Blood, his second album was released to wide acclaim, especially in America, where every track was licensed for tv and film use, his style of music fitting perfectly the more darker output of LA’s film studios.

In 2004 McRae moved to LA, and while making his third album, All Maps Welcome, began playing regularly at The Hotel Café venue in Hollywood. The connection McRae made with fellow musicians led to the Hotel Café Tour, a travelling revue show featuring dozens of artists, which annually tours the USA coast to coast, as well as occasional forays into Europe. The tour is something of a phenomenon in the states, providing a forum for new talent that may otherwise be unable to reach a live audience on such a scale.

After signing to V2 in 2006, the following year McRae released King Of Cards, a more upbeat offering than previous albums. The demise of the label during the promotion phase didn’t diminish Tom’s enthusiasm for the fight, and he toured the album twice that year, proving a huge hit at festivals across Europe, recruiting more fans everywhere he went,

After a year away from touring, during which Tom moved back to London from Brooklyn, he recorded his fifth studio album, The Alphabet of Hurricanes.  An album in two parts, he released the first in February 2010, with the second volume, From The Lowlands, following in April 2013.  Recorded over three years in studios, hotel rooms, and backstage both in the US and UK and completely self-produced, he worked with The Standing Band to hone the sound. A collection of incredible musicians and loyal friends, The Standing Band are based as far afield as Los Angeles, Texas …and Wakefield and every tour or recording session is a riotous reunion.

McRae relocated again, to Somerset and set up Buzzard Tree Studios where he took charge of the production, once again with his haunting melodies and poetic lyrics given a new sonic palette in an eclectic selection of powerful songs.

Tom toured From The Lowlands solo for over two years around the UK and Europe whilst writing for various artists, including Marianne Faithful, who called their collaboration on her acclaimed new album, her favourite.

He then headed back into the studio with the boys and now the new Tom McRae & The Standing Band album is due for release in Spring 2015.

For an artist working in a genre often considered by the music press to be “sensitive and self-indulgent” he can take the roof off a venue with his passionate performances, as well as forging a strong humorous bond with his audience.

The ‘Did I Sleep And Miss The Border’ Autumn Tour and album look set to further add to the cult that is rapidly springing up around this talented and dedicated artist and his ragtag band.