Thomas Strayhorn · 7:00pm

https://www.thomasstrayhorn.com/

Thomas Strayhorn is a singer/songwriter based in Durham, NC who writes simple songs with a serious connection to sense of place. He moved from his home in North Carolina to Denver, Colorado in 2016 where he played the occasional house concert and open mic night. His stint in Colorado was short lived, making his way back to North Carolina in late 2017 to focus on his music. While living in Colorado, he wrote many of the songs that he went on to record with James Phillips (of Bombadil) and Kate Rhudy in early 2018. These songs focus heavily on sense of place — while he was living out west, Thomas realized how important the musical culture of the Southeast was to him. This is clearly evident in songs such as “The Man That I Am” and “Back East”. Another theme evident in these songs is his sexuality. While in college at UNC Chapel Hill, Thomas steered clear of writing songs that outed him as a gay man. Now, however, he writes clearly about relationships with other men in songs such as “A Little More Proud” and “Gone in the Morning”. He feels that transparency in his writing will ultimately make his songs more compelling, and he wants to connect to LGBTQ audiences that don’t often see relatable themes of sexuality in songwriting. This batch of songs, which will be released in two separate EPs in 2019, boast simple yet compelling lyrics that are primarily driven by acoustic guitar, piano, and vocal harmonies.