I’m a musician, educator, and creative at heart, best known for my work with Urban Folk Quartet, a project that’s taken me around the globe over the past decade and a half. With seven albums under our belt and countless performances across continents, it's been an unforgettable journey. I'm proud to continue to have an independent, boundary-pushing band at the heart of what I do.
As a cajón specialist, I had the honour of featuring in the 2006 documentary Los Caminos del Cajón and later contributed to the drum world with two series of, “Creative Approaches to Contemporary Cajón,” for iDrum magazine. The cajón is more than just my favourite instrument and I'm determined to keep telling the lesser-told parts of its story.
Recording is one of my passions, and over the years, I’ve contributed to about fifty albums as a musician, designer, and collaborator. I’ve also dabbled in film and telly, but it’s the live stage that truly feels like home.
I hold a First Class Degree in Jazz Drum Kit, but at my core, I’m a rock kid and hand drummer. When I’m not playing music, you might find me bowling, swing dancing, or off on a camper van adventure -living the kind of 21st-century dream that feels like it was plucked from a 1950s American teenager’s bucket list.
Currently, I’m a music lecturer at The University of Chester, where I encourage students to find their own voice in a noisy world. I strive to share knowledge from the rapidly evolving real world of music with them. I’ve had the privilege of delivering masterclasses at some of the UK’s top conservatoires and hosting more relaxed workshops elsewhere. I believe in fostering curiosity, creativity and innate musicality. For the last decade or so, movement and music has become a real focus, through my involvement in the swing dance scene. I've enjoyed a long working relationship with the charity Music For Youth, as a frequent music mentor across genres, and as Joe Broughton's accomplice in some frankly audacious large scale projects. Co-directing 800 musicians with a cowbell at the Royal Albert Hall is a core memory!
In 2024, I was surpised and delighted to receive an Honorary Fellowship from Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, an award recognizing the contributions I’ve made to the music profession and to the life of the conservatoire itself.
If you’re curious to dive deeper into my approach to music and education, I invite you to check out this feature with Percworks.
Tom is proud to play De Gregorio Cajones and Istanbul Agop Cymbals.