A long time coast solo artist has found himself in the midst of a musical renaissance in late 2025.
A singer, guitarist, podcaster and talent manager, Thomas McCormack’s name started appearing regularly on show bills across the coast in the early 2010’s. He was a young and hungry performer who had started off jamming along with his musically inclined relatives at a very early age before stepping onto live stages at age 15. Through those high school and late teen years Thomas’ solo act as well as the duo he and pal Donavin Blaine rocked together graced the area’s scene as the acoustic act often starting the party for a number of rock and metal concerts and at some of the area’s hot spots of the time. All ages shows at gone-but-not-forgotten venues such as Graffitti’s, Characters, The Squeaky Lizard and Thunder’s Tavern, as well as others such as Pascagoula’s Celtic Irish Pub were all among Thomas’ regular stomping grounds from those early years into his twenties as he joined up with a variety of locals and high profile acts such as Blues Traveler, Dashboard Confessional, Hurt and Smile Empty Soul.
Thomas’ sound is packaged in a simple and classic way: a singer with an acoustic guitar. He strums his way through as his voice leads the way with a tone that’s often clean, clear and melodic with a touch of rock n’ roll edge. His early inspirations include alternative/ rock acts such as Matchbox 20 and Bush, and have grown to include more indie and Americana and inspiration from artists like Jason Isbell, Zach Bryan and Drive By Truckers. He often includes a healthy dose of fun cover tunes, scientifically chosen from a mix of 90s and post Y2K era genre spanning hits from Blink 182 to Britney Spears to Dr. Dre. “…pretty much anything pop culture you’ve been aware of since 1996,” he chuckled. For his originals it’s a sound that, while often tested on live stages, has been a long time coming to be refined for official release.
From 2017 to 2021, Thomas and Pepper Goins hosted Rushmore Podcast. The witty and cheekily irreverant multi-topic online show became a favorite around the coast community and beyond, sponsored events and provided some much needed entertainment during the 2020 shutdown days, and also landed a number of high profile guests including legendary comedian Gilbert Gottfried. While he isn’t actively doing it since the show ended, podcasting still sits alongside music at the top interests of McCormack’s creative career.
“I would love to get back into it, I loved it. That was my passion there…” he said. “…Who knows?”
Thomas left the coast and settled in Austin, TX for three years, marking a major slowdown in his live performaces. He spent much of this time more on the business side of the music industry, starting McCormack Media Management and working with comedians and artists, including Raelyn Nelson Band.
With his eventual return to the coast and changes in his personal life, Thomas found himself inspired again, revisiting his earlier days as a writer and a performer, and got to work putting his own music together for a solid release.
October 13th is the official drop for Thomas McCormack’s single “Sam and Dean.” Posting to all major platforms, it’s a single that is at once introspective and immediately catchy, combining those acoustic alternative and Americana sounds with a touch of pop sensibilities. The acoustic guitar is rich sounding and layered, supported by some light percussion and accompaniment to make for a nice and full sounding mix.
It’s the first release of what will be a full 12 song album, produced with actor and comedian Harland Williams who Thomas had previously worked with. Titled “Sad Boi Sh*t,” the album is tentatively scheduled to drop at the first of the year.
For McCormack, the album is the culmination of everything he’s done so far, finally presented the way it deserves to be. It includes new material such as “Sam and Dean” as well as songs reaching all the way back to his earliest days.
“A lot of the songs that are on this album I wrote when I was 18, I wrote when I was 23, I wrote when I was 27, and I’m 31 now. They’re just kind of spread out,” he explained. “I really wanted to just kind of document these songs and hope somebody else could relate to ’em.” Revisiting earlier material written in a different era of one’s life for a fresh new release can come with unique artistic challenges, but music is often flexible to interpretation, and Thomas still maintains a real connection with even his earliest stuff, even if from a new and different perspective. Even if the subject a song was written about has changed in his life since then, the song still carries meaning now that he might not have even intended originally. “I feel a very completely different connection to it… now it’s a completely different take, but these lyrics still resonate.”
“The album is literally 17 years in the making, so I’m very excited about that,” he said. “I’ve been writing more in the last few months than I’ve written in 20 years altogether, so I’m already excited to work on the next thing.”
At the time of print, Thomas will have recently performed at the Juke Joint for Frets for Pets, a cause he has long been in support of. As he wraps up the album production he will be adding more online content for listeners to check out and booking live shows into 2026. You can stream the new single on Oct 13th and keep an ear out for more to come!
~Enjoy local music~
scott@coastobserver.com
@ScottiRedd
TikTok (newly launched) @thomasmccormackmusic
Facebook – “Clyde Thomas McCormack”
Instagram @robbingthomas
Photos by Spade Image
