Tommy Thomsen brings some swing to Sebastiani Theatre
The Sonoma Index-Tribune — January 1, 2025 — Tim Curley - INDEX-TRIBUNE MUSIC WRITER
Sandwiched between national touring musical acts and the occasional movie, local favorite Tommy Thomsen has a show coming up at the Sebastiani Theatre that will be of interest to dance lovers in the area.
Sandwiched between national touring musical acts and the occasional movie, local favorite Tommy Thomsen has a show coming up at the Sebastiani Theatre that will be of interest to dance lovers in the area.
The dance style would be West Coast swing, not too far removed from the famed Lindy Hop of the 1930s and ’40’s. And Thomsen, who plays Western Swing like nobody’s business these days, delivers the musical style those dancers crave on a cold night in the dead of winter.
Saturday night dances, whether they be in Hoot Owl, Oklahoma or Turkey, Texas, began as gatherings full of live, acoustic music (before amplifiers were commonplace), just a modicum of adult beverages, and an impressive amount of boot-scootin’. On this particular Saturday night, Jan. 25, Thomsen and his band will join forces with Mitch Polzak, in a show they call “Mitch Polzak meets Tommy Thomsen at the Church of the Western Swing.”
The show is, in fact, a birthday celebration for Thomsen and a benefit for the Church of the Western swing (COWS), Thomsen’s live music venue in Turkey, Texas. As a nonprofit venture, the COWS is the perfect focus for Thomsen, Polzak, and their musical friends. Turkey, you see, is the birthplace of Bob Wills, the creator of the entire genre known as Western Swing.
Combining elements of jazz, country, polka, and the blues, Western swing is a genre not heard often on the radio, but still manages to fill a dance floor.
On this night, Thomsen will have one swinging band behind him. Essentially a duplicate of the band Thomsen gathered for his set at the KSVY show back in November, he will have Wendy DeWitt on piano, Paul Shelaski on fiddle, Ken “Snakebite” Jacobs on Saxophone, Mike Price on standup bass, and Kirk Harwood keeping time on the drums. When Polzak joins them, he will play either his guitar or banjo, and sing.
KSVY’s George Webber will act as the evening’s emcee, keeping the show moving along at a solid and swinging’ clip.
Since this is a fundraiser in addition to being huge fun, Thomsen is selling opportunities to become official “church sponsors” of the Church of the Western Swing. Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum levels will be available.
Tickets are available at sebastianitheatre.com. Thomsen said, “Tell your friends about this great event and we’ll look forward to seeing you there, Amigos.”