Our Private Events are so much fun!
The BlairOutLoud BAND performed at a house party over the weekend. What a blast! The theme was 60s, but all we managed to capture on video was a couple of 80s party jams! Enjoy and subscribe to the BlairOutLoud YouTube channel for more video this year!
Such a blast this last weekend! The BlairOutLoud BAND performed at a house party in Villa Rica, GA. We were celebrating birthdays for the hosts. Every year (this is our second year to perform here) they have a theme.. last year was 80s rockstars. This year was a 60s thing, Austin Powers groovy vibe.
We picked through our song lists and found some great 60s rock that we could pull off like Magic Carpet Ride, Come Together, some Hendrix stuff, and a few CCR tunes. I looked up late into the first set and noticed that the camera wasn’t on.. so I corrected that and ended up capturing a couple of tunes at the end of the first set, and a few more in the second. When I reviewed the footage, (I really only wanted 2 or 3 quick minutes for a video) what made the cut were a few 80s jams.. HA!
Anyway.. enjoy the Reel below. Let us know what you think!
If you have a party coming up, and you would like to hire some fun music entertainment:
ALSO..we are on GIGSALAD here:
Quick favor:
Subscribe to the BlairOutLoud YouTube channel when you get a chance: https://www.youtube.com/@BlairOutLoud
Have a good week everyone!
-Tom
New Promo Reel for BlairOutLoud DUO!
The BlairOutLoud DUO, namely Tom and Amanda Blair, present their latest Promotional Reel, recently shot at Center Street Tavern in Acworth, GA. Here is a number of clips from the performance with some insight on what the DUO offers, and invites you to book an event!
Hello all!
I hope you are getting a good start to your new year. We are off to the races.. lots of great shows and special appearances are being added to the calendar weekly! Check back often at the bottom on the HOME page, or click EVENTS for a list of events announced so far.
BTW: You can also follow BlairOutLoud on BandsInTown if you would like. I make announcements from that platform occasionally, and I certainly work to keep shows updated there as well.
Today I’m excited to share with you a new Promo Reel that I created this week for the BlairOutLoud DUO. The DUO consists of Tom Blair on guitar and vocals, and Amanda Blair on keys, flute, percussion, and vocals. Together we cover much of the same material that I cover in my SOLO act, but we also expand our repertoire to include both male and female vocal lead tunes, and songs that feature more synth, piano, flute, and other sounds beyond a solo acoustic vibe.
Here is the newest Promo Reel; these clips were captured at a recent event held at Center Street Tavern in Acworth, GA on January 20, 2024. We had a fantastic evening with a great energy from the crowd, and were able to translate that in this montage here. Enjoy!
Regarding: Jeremy Would Let Me Drown
Amazing show last Friday night with Jeremy Would Let Me Drown! If you haven’t checked us out yet, and you like the music of Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, and Soundgarden, you should catch the next show!
Hello to all!
Jeremy Would Let Me Drown had a killer show last Friday (10/20/23) at The Wing Cafe & Tap House in Marietta, GA. For those of you that are wondering what this band is, I was asked to join the group over the summer, and I’ve worked tirelessly to hop onboard and deliver some great shows so far. This band is a “grunge tribute” they call it. Basically, the goal is to specifically perform the music of Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, and Soundgarden.
The “Jeremy” guys have been around on the scene for the last few years, and I’m the new guy in the bunch. So far, the response has been great.. and last Friday we had a fantastic show. I captured some video footage from the event, and I created a montage of clips that highlight the energy of the show. Check it out below and let me know what you think!
Thanks for checking it out! Of course, all my BlairOutLoud project and content is still wide-open.. check out the Events Page or scroll to the bottom of the Home Page to visit the calendar to see everything I’ve posted so far.
We are having amazing weather in the ATL with the cooler temps, and we are finishing out the year strong with lots of fun events on the way. Thanks for checking in and watching the video.
See you soon,
-Tom Blair
Private Events Rock.. Let's Book Your Party Today!
We love private events.. Here’s one that was a blast over the weekend. Let’s book something for your next event!
This is Victoria.. she had an awesome birthday bash over the weekend, thanks to her husband Dave, putting everything together and hiring.. drumroll…. BlairOutLoud BAND!
Major shoutout to Dave, and Victoria’s family for coordinating this huge effort, renting out the roof top of the Strand Theater (in Marietta, GA), decorating everything to the max, getting awesome food catering, and clearing the “stage” space for the band! We would also like to thank the Strand for accommodating our afternoon load-in and setup journey.
Enjoy the photos from the event posted below (not my own.. all ripped from the organizer’s FB page).
We really had a blast at this party! BlairOutLoud BAND performs a solid mix of classic rock anthems, 80’s danceable rock, and 90’s alternative jams. There’s a little something for everyone, and we keep it as versatile and energetic as possible. At this event, we had our friend John Sousa filling in on bass guitar and he was fantastic.
We would love to come setup and play for your next event!
CONTACT me here to get rates and a quote that will work for your budget. BlairOutLoud private events can be just me.. BlairOutLoud SOLO, quiet OR loud btw… If you need me to sit in a corner and play guitar, I can do that.. Of course, if you let me stand, sing, and entertain that’s always a plus. LOL
But we can also offer BlairOutLoud DUO, which brings Amanda Blair into the mix on keys, flute, and percussion. Amanda adds a little more energy into an “acoustic duo” setup. Plus, she sings, so we can cover lots of female vocal driven songs as well.
Sometimes what’s right for the space.. or the budget, is BlairOutLoud TRIO. Trio shows usually are in tighter spaces where a full band with more than three people wouldn’t really fit. The Trio plays a lot of the same material the band would play, but can be a bit more relaxed, or “off the cuff” as you could say. The Trio has been perfect for small dock parties (around waterfronts), living room jams (we’ve done a few of those), small clubs with little or no stage, etc etc.
And finally BlairOutLoud BAND, where we reserve our most versatile, higher quality, and set-driven rock show offering. We bring the biggest sound and light production for this effort, and we generally need a bigger space, or would prefer a stage for this type of show. (Not required.. but is usually the better option for what we are going for). Amanda Blair brings the keys, flute, and her vocals back into the mix, so we perform material that utilize those assets.
Thanks for reading.. Contact us today about setting up your next event! Weddings, Cookouts, Reunions, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Bike or Car Shows.. you name it! Thanks for reading and enjoy the pics!
Thank you Cresswind Community Peachtree City!
Thank you Cresswind Community Peachtree City! BlairOutLoud BAND had a great event last Saturday August 12th and we’d love to do it again!
BlairOutLoud BAND says THANK YOU!
Thank you Cresswind Peachtree City for the fantastic hospitality last Saturday, August 12th! BlairOutLoud BAND had a blast entertaining your community, and we are SO thankful that you let us set up inside the ballroom! As soon as we loaded-in, the clouds erupted and it rained and roared, so the show would have been rained out for sure, without the change of location. Plus, ya know.. A/C.. this heat has been brutal here in Georgia!
The band put together a fantastic set of classic 60s and 70s rock and 80s danceable tunes that we thought would be great for the occasion. By all means, it looked to us that everything went great, and everyone was smiling and having fun. If you’ll have us back, we’d love to do it again!
If you have pics and video from this event, if you post on social media will you tag BlairOutLoud on FB, Instagram, or Twitter? That would be great!
Let’s do it again! 🙌
BTW.. we are coming to Peachtree City again on September 16th, to perform at Grazing Here:
We would love to see you at this show! Click the flyer for more info on the event or if you are on FB here is the Event Link:
Songbirds Guitar Museum was great!
Recently I had a chance to visit the Songbirds Guitar Museum in Chattanooga, TN. This was a great experience viewing all types of exhibits covering music history, vintage instruments, famous innovators and forgotten influencers, technology and science, and so much more. Please do yourself a favor and check this out the next time you are in that area!
Yesterday, Sunday the 5th, I had the chance to visit the Songbirds Guitar Museum in Chattanooga, Tennessee. On the Saturday the 4th, Amanda and I were just a few miles NE of Chattanooga where I performed at an event on Chickamauga Lake. It was a fantastic event, and I’ll have a link here soon, to another blog post where I’ll share some details and pictures.
When we woke up Sunday morning, first on the agenda was breakfast, but while eating, we both remembered that the last time we were in town, we didn’t get a chance to check out this museum, so we made immediate plans to go!
I’m so glad we stopped by! I supposed that their Sunday traffic is a little slower than normal, especially right when they open at noon, because we were the only people there at the time. This made this experience even more intimate and very enjoyable.
We started in the exhibits that shed light on the contributions of many minority groups, and the stand out performers that led the way on innovation and creativity in the early years of American music culture. If there was a guitar, banjo, or other instruments that were pivotal in forming a musical movement, or a particular voice that was so prominent that it influenced multiple generations of singers, the first few exhibits really highlighted this. Lots of great vintage instruments, and really.. works of art were on display to prime you for the rest of the showcase. Here were some of the first exhibits/instruments that we encountered: (click or tap to get full pic)
About half way back into the room, we noticed that there was a nice size stage, with PA ready to go. Along the backdrop behind the stage was a screen promoting several upcoming events. I didn’t get a picture of this, but I wanted to comment here about it.. this would be a neat place to go check out live music, right there inside the Songbird Museum!
We saw a connected room through a short hallway next to the stage that opened up into an entire new room of exhibits! The museum was much bigger and went back further into the building that I thought, so this caught me by surprise. BTW, this museum is on the backside of the Chattanooga Choo-Choo site. So just around the corner and all in and around the same building there are lots of shops and restaurants for whatever mood that strikes you. This area is old and full of amazing Chattanooga history, which makes the experience even better.
There were several areas where people could sit down to play guitar as well. There were video screens that featured video of famous players that had visited the museum and discussed their gear, playing style, influences, and more. I watched one of the Eric Johnson clips.
Here are some more exhibits and guitars featured further into the back of the museum:
The last room in the back had a beautiful display of vintage guitars, not necessarily tied to any specific performers, just very unique models all very valuable and rare. These display cases were floor to ceiling.. quite a site:
Making our way back into the main room and along the opposite side, we discovered a wall of amps, a healthy mix of vintage and some newer models, but the point of the wall was to push the buttons that represented each amp and hear a sample of their iconic sounds. This was a really neat part of the tour. Of course, the Marshall did not disappoint.. Here’s a quick clip:
Last but not least were walls of pedals, and many areas devoted to technology and its influence on music throughout history. There were even many places explaining how the circuitry works on amps, pedals, microphones, and how sound waves are generated and affected by it all. This was a really neat section, and the one that we ended on after being there for a little over an hour.
I’m thrilled that we were able to check out the Songbirds Guitar Museum! It was a delight and should inspire anyone interested in music, music history, musical instruments, and the shape and molding of music culture. The next time you are in Chattanooga, you should stop by! At the time of this writing Adult Tickets were $15 a piece. Worth every penny in my opinion!
Thanks for reading! And thanks to my wife Amanda for capturing some of these great photos as well. We were both very inspired by this place.
-Tom Blair
Let's Review 2022 🧐
Here is an overdue Review of 2022.. thinking about how far BlairOutLoud has come, highlighting some achievement, thinking about what we’ve brought to the stage, and commentating on where we can go from here. All line-ups from Solo to Band have great potential, and we are excited for what the new year brings!
Well… it’s mid February of ‘23.. perfect time to offer some reflection about 2022 right?
HA.. well I would have preferred to get a “Review of ‘22” post up at the end of 2022.. but I was just barely keeping up with everything week to week! I’m blessed to have the gigs and engagements that I do.. and BlairOutLoud finished the year pretty strong I must say. So.. finally, I’m taking a moment to stop, reflect, observe, learn, and review the brand.
Let’s look at some official numbers:
Total BlairOutLoud gigs for 2022 (basically, the number of gigs that I performed either as SOLO, DUO, TRIO, or full BAND): 178!
Pretty solid number I believe! I hit the ground running after a three week hiatus in February (used for brand organizing plus we got in a quick family vacation).
I’m not sure I’ll ever quite reach 2019’s number of 247 - That year was just absolutely insane for me.. and I learned that less gigs with higher paying base pay was my real goal.
Relationships felt stronger this year, private events were paying better, and tips are much stronger this year with an improved live show and better audience engagement.
Enjoy this photo reel with some highlights from the events in 2022:
In reviewing the pics, and thinking about all the ways that we performed, it is obvious that we really put ourselves everywhere in 2022. From restaurants with built in stages, in parking lots, on flatbed trailers, on lake docks, at pool side parties, and even one glorious gazebo in there.. we really played all over in lots of unique places in ‘22.
Here is the breakdown with the line-ups:
SOLO: 119 events
DUO: 19
TRIO: 20
BAND: 20
Concepts brought to the stage:
We worked hard on audience engagement this year. I had an idea to integrate a request system (one like I do at my acoustic shows: people text message me their requests) into the TRIO and BAND shows!
My vision was for people to scan a QR code and be given access to a special page on the website with artists and songs that we can perform. When the patron selected one of the songs, it automatically sent the request to my Google Voice line, where I read it in real time on stage and directed the band “in real-time” according to the requests coming in. I implemented this system at several shows on the back end of the year and it showed some promise. Check it out the link below and let me know what you think!
Here’s the “Live Links” BAND page with the Song lists and Tip offerings!
I feel like it’s a bold concept, and I’m going to continue to work on the look, feel, and workflow of this “Live Link” page moving forward. Over time I’ll continue to tweak it and make it better. Feedback is VERY WELCOMED.. good or bad. I’m just playing with this and looking for better connections with the audience.
Retrospection:
Let’s talk about BlairOutLoud BAND.
We are highly entertaining.. quite the talented group of musicians that are interested in getting paid decent to have fun and bring joy to those that participate. What we don’t have is a theme.. an outfit.. a tribute to a specific band, or decade, or really specific style. And we are good with that.. sort of..
You see.. because I have decided to not take the BAND into a specific direction, the thought originally was that this would open up opportunities to do lots of different events, and for example.. play classic rock where needed, 80’s danceable rock where needed, and 90’s alternative grunge and heavier material where appropriate. This is a solid plan, right? Keep it open?
Apparently not. Atlanta cover and tribute bands have gotten so specific, and so curated into a specific style or act.. that some of the OG cover “party band” style acts are getting passed over in favor of the flavor of the month tribute band (one of my friends called it “rock and roll halloween” bands). Instead of just getting up there and selling yourself to your audience, bringing them an authentic killer rock show, many musicians are trying to promote themselves as a “rock tribute” (whatever that means).. or specifically tributing one band.. the “Journey Experience”, the “A Night of Bon Jovi”, etc etc.
This is really not the direction that I care to take BlairOutLoud. If it means that I’ll have less opportunities in bars and clubs, then I’m fine with that. I would rather follow private party opportunities that are more intimate and connected with people that genuinely love what we do, rather than try to be the best cover act that beats all other bands to the punch when getting into all the hottest spots around town. It’s just not worth it to me, and I don’t have the drive to compete in that space.
Conclusions:
If you’ve read this far.. you rock. I wanted to commentate for a minute about the big picture of how I think, regarding our status. I’m confident that I portray the right amount of care for the audience, mixed with just enough of a curated song choice, and deepened connections with the audience to make a small dent on the scene with what we do.
This attitude I hope I bring to every line-up from my solo act to my full band. I’m here to have fun, make a decent pay.. and create connections/establish relationships with people that matter and feel good. I’m not here to play every sold-out terrible song that I don’t like.. nor am I here to dress up like the coolest cat on the scene with just right sunglasses, leather jackets, bandanas around my leg, etc etc. I’m not down with the “rock and roll halloween”. HA.
I believe that staying true to who we are, and what we do best.. ultimately is the best formula. We might lose members along the way, or change things up every now and then to grow and learn, but that’s okay.. at least we were honest, connected, and brought fun musical entertainment to our little world.
After covid, and up to the end of 2022, I chased the cover music scene hard with what I thought was a decent winning formula.. but as I see where I faltered, I’m beginning to understand that I’m not as concerned, as I once was, about being on top.
In 2023, things are changing.. I’ll still be all over the place with my solo acoustic show… I work with 4 scheduling companies now, with 2 of them prominently scheduling me in lots of great spots everywhere. The Trio and Band will still be at some of the bigger places.. but we will work to get lots more private events, festivals, and contracted dates with better appreciation for what we do.. and that will be just fine.
I wish you all a fantastic year! We will be seeing you out there for sure! If you’d like a great solo, duo, or band for your special event.. CONTACT ME HERE.. and let’s set it up!
Thanks all
-Tom Blair
One of my favorite moments from 2022 😃
Here's one of my favorite moments of 2022: A wedding that Amanda and I were given the opportunity to perform for in September. I wanted to highlight this special event just after it happened, but couldn’t get to it, so here’s a post honoring these lovely folks, and saying thank you for allowing us to be a part of their special day!
Hello all! February 2023 in full swing! BlairOutLoud has some great show announcements to release.. (they will be shared in another blog post, and blasted on socials). Also, there’s been some changes that we’ve made that will guide our momentum here in ‘23. We are excited to share all of this, so stay tuned to this space and check back often if you like!
For now, here in this post.. I wanted to highlight a very special event that Amanda and I were a part of in September of ‘22. Unfortunately, I didn’t make time to blog about it here on the website just after it happened, but it was a great experience that I hope will lead to future opportunities where we can best offer our talents.
Early in 2022, I received an inquiry about performing at a wedding, set for September 23rd. At first, the client requested that I play acoustic guitar (basically my SOLO acoustic performance.. just a little snazzy and curated for the wedding environment) for the cocktail hour just directly after the ceremony. I was happy to do that and agreed, but I also decided to ask if they would like someone to perform music for the ceremony. HINT HINT.. Amanda.. HINT HINT… And they agreed!!
So, I signed Amanda and I up for the job. She would play piano in the ceremony, and I would be ready outside to play acoustic for the cocktail hour. This was truly going to be the first DUO event where we did not actually perform together, but both had a role. We were delighted and worked hard to prepare.
But what about the reception? At first, there was discussion about hiring a separate DJ to complete the line-up and have all the bases covered. But I started to wonder if the client would be open to let me DJ the event myself. I certainly would be good for it, and it would also allow Amanda and I to control the flow and feel of the entire event. No doubt there was a little bit of pressure to take all of that on.. but we were good for it, and the results speak for themselves.
The event was set in Dahlonega, Georgia, at a place called Juliet Chapel. This was beautiful venue with great outdoor spaces that begged for the weather to play nice… and that’s exactly what we experienced: Wonderful weather with warmth and low humidity. It really was just a perfect day.
So let me wrap up and say… KEEP US IN MIND! We would love to do more of these wedding events in the future! Reach out over my social media channels or CLICK the button below and fill out a form to contact me. Let’s make great memories together! Thanks all!
VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO THE MCCOY FAMILY for hiring BlairOutLoud.. and to Tim & Jordan Schultz, your love was on full display.. may your marriage be fulfilling and wonderful for years to come!
Below was my FB post about the event just after it happened with pics and video from my perspective. Below that are a just a few more pics from the professional photographer, Tiffany Holmes Photography. Thanks for reading!
