Thomas Dollbaum

Singer/songwriter Thomas Dollbaum crafts introspective indie folk pieces whose words conjure imagery that shifts from stark and desolate to wryly comic or deeply moving. He partnered with longtime associate Matthew Seferian, an old friend, to shape his first full-length release, cutting the tracks inside a former New Orleans hotel that had been converted into a studio. The resulting album, Wellswood, surfaced in May 2022 through Big Legal Mess.

Dollbaum spent his early years in Tampa, Florida, before settling in New Orleans in 2015 to complete a master’s degree in poetry. While working there as a carpenter he first turned to songwriting. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic he began committing the material to tape alongside Seferian, who engineered the sessions and contributed on several instruments. Vocalist Kate Teague, violinist Mac Folger, lap steel guitarist Bennett Littlejohn, and additional musicians also lent their talents to the eight songs that became Dollbaum’s 2022 debut Wellswood.