Tom Heyman

Singer/songwriter and multi instrumentalist Tom Heyman started playing and recording in the

late 1980s with the Philadelphia based band Go To Blazes. He wrote songs, played guitar, and

the band released 5 full-length records and toured the US and Europe extensively before

breaking up in 1997. After relocating to San Francisco in 1998, he began working as a sideman,

eventually joining local favorites The Court and Spark, as well as Chuck Prophet’s band in

addition to work touring and recording with John Doe, Alejandro Escovedo, Sonny Smith, Hiss

Golden Messenger, and many other artists. All the while he was discovering his voice as a solo

artist and bandleader. His second solo record Deliver Me, was critically acclaimed, receiving 4

star reviews in both Mojo and Uncut magazine, and songs from the record were heard in the TV

shows True Blood, Justified and Damages. Heyman recorded his sixth solo record, 24th Street

Blues, in Portland, Oregon with Mike Coykendall (M. Ward) producing and Rusty Miller (Kelley

Stoltz, Jason Lytle) and himself covering the musical bases. The intention was to create a sound

that combined the loose, late night, low down groove of JJ Cale with the bittersweet

melancholia of late period Nick Lowe and the melodic storytelling of Heyman’s hero Gordon

Lightfoot. The record was written mostly at night, after long bar shifts, and is an examination of

the loneliness and alienation of a city in flux, and the true cost of love. The record will be

released in October and comes with a 60 page songbook, illustrated by his wife, the painter

Deirdre White, who teaches fine art at CCSF and UCDavis. 24th Street Blues will be released

October 6, 2023.