One reviewer describes Atlanta singer-songwriter and Louisiana native Derek Toomey as “Springsteen-esque.” Another hears “vintage Kenny Rogers or early Randy Travis.”
Such divergent takes on Toomey’s debut Americana CD, Kiss on the Wind, are perhaps best reconciled by U.K. music blogger Glenn Hampson: “What's great about this album … [is that] it's unpredictable and doesn't pigeonhole itself.”
A top 10 finalist in the CMT Listener’s Choice Award Songwriting Contest in 2010 and a finalist in the 2010 John Lennon Songwriting Contest, Toomey first and foremost rewards listeners with his gift for storytelling.
Cody Daigle, a music and entertainment reporter in Lafayette, La., writes: “Toomey delivers an 11-song set that cuts a wide swath across life in southern Louisiana: love of family, a deep and abiding faith, a sprinkling of joie de vivre and a taste for a party now and then.” He says of the dark, swampy track Alice Jane, “As a piece of southern Gothic songwriting, it’s a classic.”
Cajun French Music Association Hall of Famer Jo-El Sonnier nails his supporting role on Evangeline, Toomey’s hymn to the indecorous exuberance of Courir de Mardi Gras. Sonnier’s famed accordion—an instrument Hampson calls “extremely cool and underrated”—“fits the feel of the song perfectly. I'd challenge anyone to listen without stomping their feet.”
Of Cajun and Irish roots, Toomey grew up in Central Louisiana’s Rapides Parish but soaked up Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn and the Beatles during long visits to his grandparents’ Avoyelles Parish farmhouse, where he also went stringing for crawfish and wandered sugarcane fields.
Kiss on the Wind — produced by David Leonard, whose credits include engineering the track Interested on India Arie’s Grammy-winning album Voyage to India — is available on this website, iTunes, CD Baby and other popular music e-tailers.
