On Wednesday (April 19) Tom Grennan returns home to headline the main stage at Esquires.
On the eve of his biggest sold out show to date at London's Union Chapel, he plays a special warm up show where it all started.
Born and raised in Bedford, the 21-year-old’s childhood was a fairly typical one. Joining an A Level band he discovered an untapped knack for performance.
At the age of 18, a group of strangers attacked him on the street.
He’s inclined to play the incident off casually – “just wrong place wrong time I think” – but it left its mark, and not just from the metal plates and screws he’ll have in his jaw for the rest of his life.
“When that happened,” he recalls, “I was in a mad dark place. It hurt me mentally. I had this build-up of emotions.”
So, without much intention of ever showing anyone, he started writing about it. Influenced by the likes of Ray Charles, Kendrick Lamar and Amy Winehouse, he poured his trauma, his pent-up pain and frustration, into songs.
The first thing he wrote was Old Songs, which has a cheeky, Jamie T-esque charm to its syncopated storytelling.
But it was Something In The Water, the title track from his debut EP, that really showcased Grennan’s gritty, soulful vocals. With Something In The Water’s success, the ball was well and truly rolling.
Next came a Chase & Status collaboration, All Goes Wrong and things snowballed from there.
Now? There’s no stopping him.
This Esquires date will be a special show by a special talent.
To book your tickets click here
