TOM WALBANK

Even though his raw, aching blues come straight from the Delta, Tom Walbank was born in Somerset, England and raised in Devon.  An award winning triple threat vocalist, slide guitar player and harmonica player, Tom first heard the harmonica around the age of fifteen and immediately began teaching himself the "mouth harp."  He has been playing the Blues he loves so deeply for more than twenty years.

Tom reports that "ever since seeing John Lee Hooker for the first time and hearing his music, I knew I had to be doing that. The music connected to something within me. It spoke to me. I wanted to know how to speak that language so I went about learning it."
 
With a preference for old music, Tom likes to keep more of a juke-joint feel, electrified Delta blues feel.  Not surprisingly, he won The 2006 Arizona Blues Challenge.  Tom has also supported such bands as Dick Dale, Giant Sand, Calexico, Neko Case and Buck 65. And yes, he does have a green card.