Artists:Stephen Lomas

Stephen Lomas

Born and raised in Sydney, Stephen emigrated to the USA with his new wife in his mid-twenties. Having taken to the guitar like a bad habit in high school, he maintained his interest while raising a family in Southern California.

By the late 1980’s he had exploited all he could from the instrument, & with a desire to satisfy a yearning for the traditions of folk & blues music, Stephen switched to the banjo.

At about this time Stephen’s musical journey took on a special intensity when he met up with British guitar wizard Martin Simpson. Many concerts, workshops & lessons followed & the banjo gave way to a Taylor 812 as Stephen began to explore the colours & depths of alternate tunings & slide guitar. “Learning from Martin totally revolutionised my approach to both my guitar & to music in general. Technical perfection aside, I love the way he can remove the barriers of genre... Folk, Celtic, Blues, Pop, African, Oriental... with just one guitar he finds a commonality & makes the labels redundant.”

As a songwriter, Stephen counts as his major writing influences the diverse trio of Australian poet Henry Lawson, Pogues front-man & icon Shane Macgowan & the ever present Bob Dylan. “I am especially touched by their worldliness & visions of humanity.” Adding the likes of Tom Waits, The Band & Dave Lindley to the mix illustrates his dislike of labels. It’s hard to find just one that fits. His music touches many bases & he describes his style as “Folk+Plus... ie more than Lemon Tree, less than Metallica.” No matter the influence, Stephen considers himself a folk musician - story telling through song with earthy vocals and lyrical guitar. read more.