Coming off the back of a stellar UK & European festival run, lighting up the UK airwaves and his rowdiest ‘Tom’s Town’ pop up appearance to date, Tom Walker today unveils the beautiful title track to his highly-anticipated new album I Am – out September 20th.
A stunning, subdued beats and keys-led track, ‘I Am’ gallops in and out of Tom’s delicate, honest vocals before absolutely exploding into life with aplomb – listen HERE.
As Tom explains on the album and song title, with typically forceful passion and honesty: “I’ve called it ‘I Am’ because it’s the culmination of me trying to figure out who I am for the last four years. This record is a snapshot of what’s been going on in my life, and what’s been happening around me – what’s made me happy or sad, ecstatic or miserable.”
The album has already seen impeccable releases in ‘Burn’, ‘Freaking Out’, ‘Head Underwater’ and ‘Holy Ghost’. Tom performed ‘Burn’ & ‘Freaking Out’ with aplomb on Later…With Jools Holland. Watch HERE & HERE.
Where previously, Tom became known for powerful accounts of other people’s stories, including a friend’s battle with drugs (‘Leave A Light On’), and articulating his own relatable feelings for his now wife (‘Just You & I’); on his new album he now finds himself writing about his own personal struggles and anxieties, creative challenges, sadness and moments of despair. It is a sometimes visceral account of who Tom Walker is in 2024, hence the title: I Am.
After writing, and binning, a plethora of new tracks, an exhausted Tom subsequently headed out to Los Angeles to write with the McDonough brothers, Toby Gadd, Ryan Daly & Castle, who’s credits between them include Beyonce, Joji, Khalid, Benson Boone, Mimi Webb and John Legend. The trip reignited the excitement and love of trying brand new things.
The results speak for themselves with ‘Freaking Out’, ‘Lifeline’, ‘Burn’, ‘Head Underwater’ and now ‘Holy Ghost’. Looking ahead, Tom plays an intimate run of UK in-stores dates before heading out to the US and Europe for his own headline tour. He then returns to the UK & Europe for an arena tour with The Script across November & December.
As Tom succinctly puts it; “I will die for these songs. It’s the first time in a long time I’ve felt like that. You’ve got to ignore what everyone else wants from you, and you’ve got to back yourself.”
Honesty and confession, anger and agitation, frustration and relief, succour and support – this is I Am all over, and this Tom Walker, all in.
Tom will next head out on a run of UK in-store performances to support the release of I Am, then to Europe & the US for headline tours, before returning to the UK & Europe for an arena tour with The Script across November & December:
UK SHOWS
September (In-Stores)
18th KINGSTON, Banquet @ Pryzm
20th LONDON, HMV Oxford Street
21st GLASGOW, HMV
22nd EDINBURGH, Assai @ Liquid Rooms
23rd DUNDEE, Assai @ Beat Generator
24th LEEDS, Crash @ The Wardrobe
25th MANCHESTER, HMV
26th COVENTRY, HMV @ The Empire
27th MARLBOROUGH, Sound Knowledge @ Memorial Hall (6.00pm)
27th MARLBOROUGH, Sound Knowledge @ Memorial Hall (8.00pm)
28th LIVERPOOL, Jacaranda
29th BRISTOL, Rough Trade @ Strange Brew
October (In-Stores)
16th SOUTHAMPTON, Papillon
17th NORWICH, The Waterfront
18th KINGSTON, Banquet @ Pryzm (extra date added due to demand)
19th NEWCASTLE, Newcastle University
November (w/ The Script)
11th BELFAST, SSE Arena
13th BELFAST, SSE Arena
14th DUBLIN, 3Arena
15th DUBLIN, 3Arena
16th DUBLIN, 3Arena
18th CARDIFF, Utilia Arena
19th BOURNEMOUTH, International Centre
20th NOTTINGHAM, Motorpoint Arena
22nd BIRMINGHAM, Utilia Arena
23rd LONDON, The O2
25th LIVERPOOL, M&S Bank Arena
26th GLASGOW, OVO Hydro
28th LEEDS, First Direct Arena
29th NEWCASTLE, Utilia Arena
30th MANCHESTER, Co-op Live