Americana musician gets back to his roots for Thumb concert

Bradford Loomis traces his love of music back to his days as a member of the Cedarcrest Middle School chorus in Marysville.

“It’s kind of the ultimate team sport,” he said. “When you have a solo you can shine, but you spend a lot of time trying to work together as a group to make the song sound unified — as eloquent as possible,” he said.

That love of music only grew as a student at Marysville Pilchuck High School. “I knew right away I wanted to be a musician,” Loomis said. “I didn’t really know how to make that happen.”

It took some time — and some detours — for Loomis to find the way.

Loomis, 40, gave up music for a decade following the births of his three children. He tried to follow the well-intentioned advice he got when he first started talking about trying to follow his passion of music as a career.

It was summed up in four words: Have a back-up plan.

“I tried a bunch of careers and was pretty bad at all of them,” he said.

He came back to music after listening to an album by Bruce Springsteen, “We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions,” which led him to discover Pete Seeger and classic Americana folklore tales.

“I wanted to be like that,” Loomis said. “That’s how I got my start in music — my restart.”

Loomis’ concerts draw upon another devotion first experienced as a high school student: a love of history.

In high school, he read the assigned history book before the first day of class.

“It’s great for informing yourself of us, our cultures, who we are as people and what we’re capable of, good and bad,” he said.

His interest in history became a springboard for his music.

“It’s made for a great avenue of telling my stories,” he said.

His music, described as roots Americana, also has given him insights into the state of the nation and how, perhaps, we’re not as divided as we think we are.

The music is not innately political, he said, so it allows him to draw fans across the political spectrum.

His concerts sometimes occure in private homes or in venues near a community of musical supporters. “That’s afforded me to see a pretty wide cross section of this country,” he said.

“When we’re out seeing people and who they are in their community, it’s a lot harder to dehumanize them,” he said. “That’s really valuable and helpful for understanding the other side.”

Some try to blame the country’s decisiveness on the media or social media — “tools that don’t allow you to see the community of people you’re opposed to,” he said.

Conversations that take place face-to-face are far different than those that occur online, Loomis said.

His music also draws upon personal experiences, including his father’s diagnosis with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease seven years ago.

His 2017 album, “Bravery and the Bell,” is a celebration of his father’s bravery, steadfastness and ability to accept what he can’t control.

Loomis said he has continued to pursue “the narrative stuff” in his upcoming album, “Where the Light Ends,” which will be available Oct. 11.

The odds of success for any musician are small in such a competitive business.

Loomis said he was compelled to pursue music no matter what, and prepared himself to go into it with little to no expectations. “I do know this feeds my spirit,” he said.

He said he and his wife try to get by financially by focusing on gaining experiences rather than things.

While on his national tour, they have been able to tour Manhattan, see the oceans on both coasts and sail across Lake Michigan. His next stop is in Snohomish, a city he and his family lived in for about five years. They keep in touch with friends they made in part through attending Snohomish Community Church.

Loomis said he looks forward to playing Sunday at the Tim Noah Thumbnail Theater, calling it one of his favorite places to play.

“It sounds great and it’s the center of a community that’s been very meaningful to us,” he said.

Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.

If you go

Bradford Loomis will perform 4 p.m. July 28 at Tim Noah Thumbnail Theater, 1211 Fourth St., Snohomish. Tickets are $18. Call 360-568-9412 or go to www.thumbnailtheater.org for more information.