For over twenty-five years Tom Irwin has been taking life experiences, turning them into songs, and giving those songs life through performances and recordings. The 45 year-old singer-songwriter has opened for Willie Nelson at the 2001 Illinois State Fair and performed with many other popular artists. Readers of the Illinois Times voted him Best of Springfield for solo musician (2004), male musician (2002), male vocalist (2001), and folk band (1994 & 1999).
Irwin works around 200 dates a year in diverse venues and various areas. He has released eight full-length recordings of original songs, had cuts recorded by area artists, and hosts the Songwriter Circle, a weekly gathering of central Illinois tunesmiths. He regularly performs shows for children at schools, festivals, and community events.
His music has been described as "a cross between Buddy Holly and Frank Zappa" by Gajoob magazine, "brilliant and lasting" by the Tucson Weekly, "enduring" by the State Journal-Register, and "updated John Prine," by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He has been heard on radio stations across the country and even is a favorite in Estonia, Europe for his social commentary ballad, "The Crystal Palace." Four times he has been the featured artist in the Arts & Entertainment section of the State Journal-Register.
Irwin performs as a solo acoustic act, with country-folk influenced combos, and with the Notorious Hired Hands, an electrifying 5-piece rock & roll group. Original songs in his live shows range from the bucolic hilarity of "I'll Be Your Bull (If You'll Be My Heifer), to the life study of "Diggin' in the Dirt", from the heartfelt sincerity of "Thank You for Loving Me" to parental loss in "Out of Here." Irwin time-travels to the 1880s with the tale of his "Uncle Fud," talks about hard knocks in "The Bottom of the Hole," laughs at trouble in "What Else You Gonna Do," and brings it all back home with "I Went Down to the River." He covers tunes by Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Hank Williams, Steve Earle, Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt, Willie Nelson, and many others.
You might laugh and cry, chuckle and squirm, tap your foot and nod your head, but you won't ignore or walk away untouched by this talented teller of stories through words and music.
