Tom Brosseau
Tom Brosseau is a folksinger and songwriter from North Dakota. He comes from a working family with a musical background, though none have received formal training. His grandmother Lillian Uglem taught him the acoustic guitar while he was in grade school.
He has toured Japan, Canada, Portugal, Iceland, Australia; performed in bars, backyards, grand halls, subways, theaters, old folks homes; exchanged songs and poetry with many talented folks, including Susan Orlean, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Patrick Marber, Bonnie Raitt and the late Sam Hinton.
Mayor Mike Brown presented Brosseau the Key to the City of Grand Forks, North Dakota in 2007 for his album of original work entitled Grand Forks. The songs were based on the devastating Red River flood of 1997. Natalie Portman chose a track from Grand Forks,”Plaid-lined Jacket” as part of her continuing work with FINCA, an organization whose mission is to assist communities of impoverishment.
Since 2010, Brosseau has performed with Becky Stark and John C. Reilly in John Reilly & Friends, a band devoted to the current American folk music revival, whose members also include Dan Bern, Willie Watson, Greg Leisz, Jerry Roe and Sebastian Steinberg. In 2011, Reilly and Brosseau recorded a 7″ vinyl single entitled John & Tom that was produced by Jack White for Third Man Records.