Tom Scott is one of the most compelling figures to emerge from the New Zealand music scene over the last seventeen years. He returns to Europe this October with his Avantdale Bowling Club project, following sold out shows in 2023.
Over the course of two albums, Avantdale Bowling Club (2018) and Trees (2022), Tom has worked with musicians and producers in New Zealand to craft a vivid intermingling of jazz, soul, hip-hop and electronica. Written from a working class perspective at the bottom of the globe, Scott’s lyrics explore the day-to-day realities of life lived on the margins of society.
Sad and celebratory in equal measure, Avantdale Bowling Club has been lauded by NPR, Refuge Worldwide and Radio New Zealand. The debut release won the coveted Album of the Year and best Hip-Hop artist at the Aotearoa Music Awards followed by Independent Music NZ’s Taite Music Prize for best album release. At the end of 2022 the follow-up Trees debuted at number 1 on the NZ album charts.
Raised on jazz, soul, funk and rap, Scott has honed his skills as a rapper, songwriter and bandleader through membership in several cult groups (@Peace, Average Rap Band). He first emerged in 2007 with Home Brew, a band that has recently returned to the touring circuit and the top of the NZ charts with an unexpected second album, Run It Back. Scott’s other projects, and his burgeoning Years Gone By label, ensure that he continues to influence and push boundaries across genres.
In May 2023 he made his UK debut, selling out two shows at London’s Ninety One Living Room and playing at The Great Escape festival in Brighton. He returned in November for a sold-out show at Islington Assembly Hall as part of London Jazz Festival.