I Know Who Needs To Hear This...

As a spoiler/taster for Sunday's review of a gig I went to on Wednesday, today's post features the support act, Tomberlin.

 

There'll be a few words tomorrow about Tomberlin's performance, although I didn't get to see all of her set, for reasons which will become clear. Having had good intentions to write about a support act previously and failed dismally - poor Orbury Common, who have been waiting patiently since I saw them support Katy J Pearson back in September - I didn't want Tomberlin to suffer the same fate.

This bit is from Tomberlin's bio on her official website:

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Sarah Beth Tomberlin [is] a pastor’s kid born in Florida, raised in rural Illinois. She wrote the majority of her debut while living at home. For a while after leaving home and church, she lived in Louisville, Kentucky. She worked a day job and kept writing songs. She posted some of these songs to Bandcamp, which led to her signing a record deal with Saddle Creek, and her debut album, At Weddings. It all happened fast: Less than a year after her first live show, she performed on Jimmy Kimmel and she ended up moving to L.A. which is where she wrote Projections (2020), her EP followup to At Weddings, though she recorded it in Philadelphia.

 

During the pandemic, Sarah Beth was all over the place, physically and mentally. Louisville. Los Angeles. Back home in Illinois for a bit. Brooklyn, where she’s now settled, she says. Brooklyn is also where [current album i don’t know who needs to hear this...] was recorded.

As far as I can tell, there have been four singles/videos from the album since it was released in February 2022, the title track/acronym idkwntht, tap and sunstruck - song titles all intentionally lower case, indicating the soft, understated music within. I've chosen the video for second single, happy accident, as Tomberlin shared an entertaining anecdote on stage about freezing her ass off for her art, wearing chainmail and carrying a sword around. The video is a beautifully shot and edited visual treat.

To give a flavour of Tomberlin's live performance, I've found her Tiny Desk Concert for NPR Music from June 2019. Tomberlin performed solo on Wednesday but the acoustic structures, vocals that soar from hushed lows to effortlessly scaling heights and the between-song banter are a pretty good indication of how she was on stage.

 

Stoned was another highlight of the few songs that I got to hear her perform and also features on i don’t know who needs to hear this...

 

 

I don't often buy from the merch stall at gigs, the occasional T-shirt, perhaps a CD, and Wednesday night was no exception. However, come the next Bandcamp Friday in November, a digital copy of Tomberlin's latest album will be on my shopping list. This support act slot was the first time I'd heard of Tomberlin or her music, but I'm looking forward to discovering more.