TOM ODELL IN CONCERT:

Acclaimed British singer-songwriter Tom Odell isn’t much concerned with musical trends. While many of his contemporaries have started dressing up their tunes with elements borrowed from dance music and hip hop, Odell has stuck to his indie pop guns, favoring simple, piano-based arrangements that let his heart-rending voice and confessional lyrics shine. In concert he performs seated at the piano, conjuring up evocative chords and melodies while his band adds gentle guitar, glacial glockenspiel, and haunting vocal oohs and ahhs to the mix. Odell wears his heart on his sleeve, and seeing him perform deeply personal songs like “Real Love” and “Magnetised” in the flesh only heightens their emotional impact. He wowed fans in 2016 with his sophomore album Wrong Crowd, and followed up with powerfully emotional sets on tour that treated ticket buyers to the full range of his awe-inspiring talents.

BACKGROUND SNAPSHOT:

Chichester, England-born Tom Odell studied classical piano as a child and started writing songs at age 13. After high school he abandoned plans to attend university and instead focused on music, performing at open mic nights around the Liverpool area. He enrolled in the Brighton Institute of Modern Music shortly after and started the band Tom and the Tides, but ultimately decided to go solo. He got a break in the early ’10s when British pop sensation Lilly Allen saw one of his London performances and signed him to her label, resulting in his 2012 debut EP Songs from Another Love. He followed up in 2013 with his first album Long Way Down, a No. 1 smash on the UK Albums Chart that produced a string of popular singles including the Top 10 hit “Another Love.” A slew of accolades followed, including the BRITs Critics’ Choice Award and a nomination for the prestigious BBC Sound of 2013 poll. Odell spent the next few years touring, and in 2016 he released his sophomore album Wrong Crowd, a No. 2 hit on the UK Albums Chart that he supported on the No Bad Days Tour.