Getting to know T. Thomason

Pop performer T. Thomason won CTV’s talent search show, The Launch in 2019, coming away with a hit single, “Hope” released and promoted through Taylor Swift’s label, Big Machine. There may be no better example of COVID’s impact on the arts than the way this promising, young career was stalled. Still, Thomason isn’t looking back. In June, he released a cover of Bruce Cockburn’s “Lovers in a Dangerous Time” accompanied by a short film of queer pandemic love stories. He’s planning some live performances later this summer. Saltscapes spoke with T. Thomason about growing up in an arts family, overcoming bigotry and protecting his most valuable possession. 

 

Did you always sing?

My mom says I was singing before I was talking. When one of her parents died, we were coming back from the funeral and I was in the back seat singing about how she was so sad. She had to pull over because she was crying. If I was bad, they would send me to my room and sit outside trying not to laugh because I would be making up a song about how “I’m so sad, I’ve been bad, my parents are mad.”

 

You were born in the UK.

My dad is British. He directed my mom in her final production before she graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. They lived in the UK for ten years before I was born, but they didn’t want to raise a kid in London. They came to visit my uncle in Wolfville and loved it. We moved there when I was two. When I was 12, we moved to Antigonish. My dad ran theatre there.

 

What do you remember of Wolfville?

I was just a little kid. Some bullying started in the higher elementary grades. I was different from other kids, more masculine than I should be.

 

And Antigonish?

A lot more angsty. It’s really hard to be a teenager and it’s hard to be queer in rural Nova Scotia. I was the first president of the Gender and Sexuality Alliance at the high school. Ten years before, people were trying to get it going. It was met with so much resistance, but that club is still going today. Now when I go back, it feels like a totally different place.

 

What was it like to have parents who work in the arts?

It was great. When I wanted to start doing music, they were realistic about being a self-employed artist. It felt normal. In the summer there would be actors from all over Canada. I was surrounded by adults who treated me like I had something to say. That goes a long way when kids can make you feel really bad about yourself. It gave me perspective on the teenage drama happening in my life.

 

What was the most difficult thing about transitioning?

Once you know things about yourself, it becomes unbearable to live a certain way. When I was transitioning, I had this choice. There is a belief in the trans community that if you take testosterone, you will lose your ability to sing. It’s not true, obviously. You have to sing every single day and I worked with a voice teacher. Through that time, my relationship to my voice became even deeper. I became really aware of protecting it.

 

Fans appreciate the honesty in your songs.

Thanks. My dad loves Bob Dylan. His storytelling ability and lyricism stuck with me. I love the formulaic nature of pop music, and I want to see what unique mutations of the formula you can create. I’m a big Taylor Swift fan. She’s done a lot for confessional writing in pop music.

 

What hopes did winning The Launch give you?

I never anticipated reality TV being part of my journey. It felt like boot camp. I learned so much in a short period of time. Some beautiful relationships came out of it. Last October, I did a duet with Sarah McLachlan. It showed me that I can rise to industry standards. It makes me hope that this is just the beginning.