Tommy Stillwell
Guitarist / Vocalist / Songwriter / Producer
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Early bio
From Rural Beginnings
1960s-
Tommy’s musical tastes began to take shape while living in the rural Kentucky town of Cloverport. As a youngster growing up in the 1960s and early 70s, he would tune into radio stations from as far away as Memphis, TN and Chicago, IL just about anything that would carry in on his am radio dial in the evenings.
1975 would find Tommy traveling South to Louisiana playing shows in and around the New Orleans area. The musical culture there helped shape Tommy’s outlook on both writing and performing
After living in Louisiana for a brief period, Tommy returned to Evansville in late
1981 to join “The Phonz” (pronounced Phones), re-
The Phonz released a ten inch EP that contained three original songs and a cover of the Del Shannon hit “Runaway”. They followed that release with extensive touring of the Midwest and deep South playing shows from Chicago to New Orleans.
The Beat Goes On
A return to The Beat Daddys, recording and film
2000-
Upon re-
In the Fall of 2008, Tommy and his long time friend and Beat Daddy band mate, Larry Grisham were asked to write and perform original music for “Renaissance Village”, a full length documentary film chronicling the hardships of displaced New Orleans Residents living in a F.E.M.A. Trailer community just outside Baker, LA in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
In the Fall of 2011 Tommy began producing recordings out of his “Park Place Studio” located in Newburgh, IN. The facility was built primarily as a demo studio from which to record new songs for submission to his publisher, but Tommy has also enjoyed success producing commercials & demos for other clients. Then, in early 2013 Tommy completed work on the first set of master sessions to come out of Park Place. The CD project entitled “Let It Ride” for Nashville, TN artist Jackson Young was released on the TMG label.
In the Fall of 2013 operations were moved to Owensboro, KY and the studio became Twin Lakes Sound Studio. The Beat Daddys release “hoodoo that we doo” was recorded there throughout 2014 and released in Summer of 2015.
“His guitar can sweep you up and make you feel as though you have been set down in the deep South on a hot Summer night, where the air hangs heavy and the sweat rolls freely. Then, like a breath of fresh air, squeeze notes out of his guitar that are so soft and sweet, they seem to shimmer like a full moon on The Gulf Of Mexico”.
Further on up the road
Developing as a guitarist, writer and recording artist
1986-
In 1986, Tommy once again teamed up With Grisham, to form The Beat Daddys.
Following a trip to Asia In the early 1990s, They were signed to the Jackson, Mississippi based Waldoxy Records, part of the Malaco Music group, as recording artists and songwriters.
While with Waldoxy/Malaco Tommy recorded on two Beat Daddy releases: “No We Ain’t From Clarksdale”, and “South To Mississippi”. Both releases were recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Alabama. Tommy also recorded with The Beat Daddys on “Z Zelebration” the label’s tribute to the late Blues legend Z Z Hill who was also a Malaco artist. As well as “Southern Shades of Blue” volumes 1 and 2
It was also at this time, the group began doing shows with some of the genre’s most notable names in some of the most celebrated venues in the US. Tommy recorded and performed with The Beat Daddys until his departure in early 1995.
After leaving The Beat Daddys, Tommy spent the next couple of years playing Blues clubs and festivals primarily in the Midwest with an occasional trip to Mississippi or Texas. It was during this time that he also spent a lot of time performing on Beale St. In Memphis, TN
In 1997 Tommy teamed up with keyboardist Carl Rodenberg to form Stillwell -
In 1999, their W.C. Handy performance was filmed and aired nationally on “Jubilee”, the live music series on PBS. The performance was well received by audiences across the country
Tommy’s live resume’ reads like a “who’s who” of blues artists, having performed on bills with the likes of B.B.King, Buddy Guy, Johnny Winter, Derek Trucks, and Joe Bonamassa just to name a few. And the list keeps growing.
“He brings to the stage a guitar style that can hold an audience spellbound, and a voice packed so full of emotion it breaths life into each song”.