Until recently, Bigfork musician Tommy Edwards played locally at breweries, wineries and venues across the Flathead Valley with his bands, Comatose Posse and Man & The Box, along with solo shows for the past decade.
But after Edwards landed the final spot on The Voice, which aired on NBC on Oct. 5, he now has nationwide bookings and the show’s 21st season has barely begun.
Edwards performed “Drops of Jupiter” by Train on The Voice’s stage during the blind audition where he sang to the iconic turned-around chairs occupied by popular musicians Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Ariana Grande and Blake Shelton, whose team Edwards chose in the end after also being chosen by Legend.
“It was a rush,” Edwards said. “I’ve spent most of my career in Montana performing live. With the cameras and the whole nation watching, it was exhilarating. The pressure was on and it felt really good to walk out of there and get on Team Blake.”
While Edwards doesn’t consider himself a country artist, he said Shelton’s music is the next closest genre.
“I’m not really a country artist,” he said. “I have rock and roll roots but I’d be lying to be saying when John Legend spoke, it was soul crushing to not look at him and say yes.”
Since growing up outside of Nashville, Edwards moved to Montana in 2012 and he now lives in Woods Bay with his wife and kids.
Despite growing up near a music mecca in a musical household, Edwards didn’t start performing until moving to Montana where he met local musician Luke Lautaret at an open mic night at Blondie’s, a former bar in Bigfork.
Edwards helped start an open mic night at Scotty’s Bar in Kalispell and eventually formed Comatose Posse and Man & the Box. He sings and plays guitar with his father, who is in both bands.
“I’ve always been listening to my dad sing and I’ve been singing with him since I learned to speak,” Edwards said. “When I was 12, he bought me a bass guitar.”
Now, Edwards is currently working on a solo album, which he’s recording in Nashville, complete with pop and rock and roll influences that he hopes to release next year.
In the meantime, Edwards is busy with The Voice in Hollywood. He says getting to know the other artists on the show has been his favorite part of the process.
Since Edwards’ audition, he says his social media followers have tripled, he has nationwide bookings and his brother, Josh, has become his fulltime manager.
“I’m just really proud of this guy through this process,” Josh said. “It’s been a night and day change and the way he’s adjusting is incredible and it requires him to grow fast. I’ve got to give a huge shout out to the Flathead Valley for the support.”
For more information, visit www.tommyedwardsmusic.com and visit www.nbc.com/the-voice to watch the show.