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Tom McRae
Ramsgate Music Hall, Ramsgate, Kent
17th October 2026
Tom McRae brought his celebratory “Stadium Tour” to the South-East coast as he entertained his faithful followers at Ramsgate Music Hall for the first time in just over two years. Last year saw the man in black mark the 25th anniversary of his eponymous debut album whilst his current 2026 solo tour celebrates “25 years of songs and stories”. His 33 date tour started in Cardiff’s Acapela Studio and ends in Cultuurcentrum De Schakel in Waregem, Belgium, neither of which you would regard as traditional stadiums. Tom’s “stadiums” are the more up close and intimate surroundings of Pubs, Churches and independent venues just like RMH. (You can see why artist and agent may have differing aspirational goals).
The agent in question had told Tom to up his game on this tour. He told Tom that he was competing against the likes of Oasis, Harry Styles, U2 and “Bongo” playing to packed out crowds at the Sphere and even Abba holograms! As a nod to the suggestion, and an acknowledgement of the need to wow is audience, Tom bought a red balloon to tonight’s party!
“I realise some of you may have travelled at least three or four miles”, Tom quipped in an evening strewn with dry wit and acerbic humour. In between a setlist of greatest hits, Tom held the Ramsgate crowd in the palm of his hands. From the opening silent stare out across the room to the final thank you’s McRae captivated his audience with lyrical dexterity, carefully crafted instrumentation and loquacious charm. After 25 years on the road, the Essex raconteur knows how to entertain and engage with seemingly effortless ease.
McRae, solo and without a support act, opted to play two sets over two and a half hours with a short break in the middle to go to the bar. With the exception of possibly his latest release, Ash Wednesday, Tom’s set was drawn from a ‘best of’ that the gathered faithful were all very well versed in. A very strong start of You Cut Her Hair, For The Restless and then Sao Paulo Rain sat at his keyboard, made sure that his audience were transfixed from the off. There was little let up in the connection, the intensity or the quality throughout the night.
Tom was at pains to make sure he made the audience experience “worthwhile”. “You’ve paid for tickets, meals, hotels. Some of you have even flown in from Europe, and some of you may have had to buy a Stanley knife to cut off your electronic tags”, he said. “We’ve been through a lot over the last eight or nine years: Trump 1, COVID, cost of living crisis 1, Trump 2, cost of living crisis 2. You’ve survived, only to find out it’s AI that’s going to kill us all!”
Consequently, in a set of many, many highlights, a fitting inclusion was his track – End Of The World News. Tom divided the crowd into two, giving each vocal duties to help deliver a rousing conclusion to an evocative and timely tune. At the other end of the scale, My Vampire Heart acutely showcased Tom’s most tender and vulnerable side as he carefully caressed his words through an almost whispered delivery.
As half time came around, Tom invited everyone to join him at the merch table upstairs. “Feel free to re-mortgage your house and buy everything I have”, he said. The lady next to me turned to her friend and said, “He’s still got it”. “Are you going upstairs to tell him?” her friend said. “I might; I’ve loved him longer than my marriage lasted!” she said with a smile.
Set two was equally engaging with Tom, for a large part, opting to take suggestions from the Kent crowd. Mermaid Blues picked up where My Vampire Heart had left off before Tom took a trip into the crowd for a stirring rendition of Street Light. With his mic being held by an avid fan marking her 70th TM gig, McRae wandered through the crowd as he sang – “I am envious and obvious and desperate for your love, I am shouted by and criticised, Still I crave your touch”.
Ghost Of A Shark, and crowd favourite picks Bloodless and Human Remains, for which Tom had someone ready at hand with his songbook in case he forgot the lyrics, kept the audience hanging on every word. After a fake finale (Tom didn’t want to do the precarious RMH stairs again) McRae concluded a terrific evening’s entertainment with a raucous version of One Mississippi complete with whole-hearted crowd participation. He thanked the crowd and thanked the venue and its staff and left the stage having played a blinder. Who needs a stadium, a sphere or even Swedes for that matter when you can huddle together in a room of like minded souls to enjoy the talents of one of the finest singer-songwriters of the 21st Century. Not me, and I suspect not Tom either.
~
You can find Tom McRae online here: They’re also on Facebook and X
All words by Andrew Lockwood. More writing by Andrew Lockwood can be found at his author’s archive.
All photos by Aaron Thompson. AMP Photography
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