The Songs of Tom Smith is a recording and performance project Tom created in 2014 with a large pool of musicians across Australian cities Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. In the 2023 Summer, Tom came to Europe for 6 months to replicate his Australian model of a separate band for each city.

His modus operandi is to create a set of songs for a character, choose an appropriate genre, create a show and document the songs on an album. Live performances have a cabaret feel, are highly entertaining and see him showcase characters such as The Dodgey Bodgey (Doo-Wop Rockabilly Salesman), the Techno Alien (Synth Pop exploration of technology and alienation) and the Rock n Roll Rooster (Cock Rock Satire).

Mainly based in London during his recent visit, he played at venues such as Fighting Cocks (Kingston), Off the Cuff (Herne Hill) but also spent time in Dublin (4 nights at Anseo) and in Recklinghausen Germany where he performed in art galleries, pubs and community centres. Having made connections with many collaborators, bands and venue promoters Tom is returning in 2024 for a series of gigs and festivals across Europe.

Performances lately have been focussing on his characters The Dandy at the End of the World (Post-Punk) and The Camp Cowboy Preacher (Alt. Country). Songs such as Camp it Up Cowboy, Truckin’ for Jesus and The Lord is King (He Knows I’m a Queen) showcase his dark humour on topics such as organised religion, masculinity and gender identity.

For this year’s Anywhere Festival, The Songs of Tom Smith have two Queensland debuts. See the online program for details of:

Spaceship Toga Party (July 19 at Banshees, July 20 at Junk Bar, July 21 at Shirley’s)

The Missing Beats (August 2 at Cave Inn, August 3 and 4 at Shirley’s)