Tom Benz

We first heard from Tom Benz in November of last year upon the release of his single on Youtube “Down in the Willow Garden.” That track introduced us to a uniquely gifted singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with a deep, lifelong appreciation for the simple things. Though he was born and raised in Germany, where he still lives today, Tom has spent decades immersing himself in classic Americana music and culture.

Inspired by the unexpected downtime of the pandemic, over the last two years the musician and luthier has recorded dozens of Folk, Country and Bluegrass songs on the popular music distribution and collaboration site Bandlab. Working with both his ‘real’ band The Stringband Ramblers and his virtual Bandlab group Them Damned Ol´Hillbillies, Tom Benz creates timeless acoustic music that invoke images of simpler days.

“To Suffer and Die” e.g. is one of his recent singles. Although the song is an original composition it has the soul and subject matter of a century ago. Backed by an organic ensemble of acoustic guitar, double bass, guitar, mandolin and harmonica, Tom sings a melancholy ballad of the downtrodden, inspired by the Great Dust Bowl/Great Depression era.

The recently published "Life Ain't Easy" is a funny story of how to find the right girl. Another facet of this artist, compared to his other tracks.

Check out more of his work and his video material on Youtube => https://www.youtube.com/c/TomBenz_Music