New year, new lineup, and a renewed focus on original music.

2025 was quite a different year for me. I spent a good chunk of it providing backup vocals and bass for the Brayden Williamson Band. I really enjoyed playing with Brayden, Jon, and Stevie, but I also knew I needed to get back to focusing on the Thomas Jude Band. I’ve got a lot of songs I still want to share.

In many ways, we’ve got plenty of playing experience, but as a band we’re really only getting started. We said goodbye to a lineup that had been together since our early days as The Jazzalachians, and my cousin Tammy Hatfield stepped in and held down the bass during a great fall run close to home. I’m grateful for that stretch and the gigs we got to play together. My buddy Matt Mullins also hooked me up with a few gigs on what I refer to as “the other side of southern WV” in Hinton and at the Tamarack in Beckley. That’s another dude that I’m truly glad I got to meet last year.

Footage from Inez Harvest Festival is below.

As we kick off 2026, I’m pumped to welcome Michael Ojeda (keys and alto sax) and Zach Messer (bass) to the lineup. Michael is the son of the great Marty Ojeda, longtime Logan County band director. On the flip side, Zach started out as one of my trombone players in the Tug Valley Band about ten years ago. We reconnected a few years back, and he’s been living in one of the apartments in the C.E. Roberts Building I manage as part of my work with the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum. He locked in quickly during rehearsal, and it was immediately clear he was a great fit. Terry Soltesz returns on drums to round out the lineup.

Last year was the first time I really leaned into a shorter set that focused more on original music, and that’s still the plan this year. That’s our bread and butter. You don’t have a ton of control over how you’re perceived as an artist, but I want to be clear that my original music deserves an audience. That doesn’t mean you won’t still hear some of our favorite covers scattered through our set though!

I’m hoping to get more recorded material out this year, though at the moment I feel a bit like George R.R. Martin promising The Winds of Winter. Maybe it happens or not. I’m also currently guilty of about a month’s worth of procrastination when it comes to booking gigs so if you’d like to help make that easier, I won’t argue. Text (304) 266-0602, email booking@thomasjudemusic.com, or reach out on Facebook or Instagram and we’ll get it sorted out.

Here’s to a great 2026.