Tommy cut his musical teeth growing up in Raleigh, NC listening at first to the old-time traditional sounds of the first generation of recording artists of the 20’s and 30’s but also became fascinated with the British Invasion groups of the mid 60’s. He was playing in high school rock bands by the late 60’s, and the Soul explosion of that time served to round out the picture.

After moving to Nashville in 1971 and bouncing back and forth between there and Austin, TX, he had built an extensive resume of musical work including recordings with The Contenders, Tim Krekel, Marcia Ball, The Whitstein Brothers, and Riders In The Sky. As a producer he has worked with Tracy Nelson, David Olney, and Elise Witt and his songs have been recorded by Olney, the Riders and the The Nashville Bluegrass Band, amongst others. He is also a co-conspirator in that unquantifiable institution known as the Nashville Jug Band.

In more recent years Tommy has collaborated with Tom House and Karren Pell on musical adaptations for the stage of Lee Smith’s novel Fair and Tender Ladies and, with House, Pell and Olney, two of William Faulkner’s works, Light in August and As I Lay Dying.

Tommy went into journalism, spending many of those years at The Tennessean in Nashville. He eventually returned to Raleigh with his wife Renee and sons Hudson and Nate, where he writes for the News and Observer.