Uploaded November 2010 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Get set for an East Coast barnburner the likes of which you've never seen before! Not for the faint of heart, Cape Breton's rolling kitchen party known as the Tom Fun Orchestra is a nine-piece ball of energy filled with the spirit and passion of Nova Scotia's deep musical roots. In truth, this band is more of a three-ring circus than an orchestra, successfully steering away from overdone Celtic rock clichés, instead bellowing last-call urgency in songs that aim for Springsteen-esque heights with dashes of New Orleans jazz thrown in for good measure.
The Tom Fun Orchestra formed as a result of an impromptu performance by a group of friends at the 2005 East Coast Music Awards in Sydney, and then also performed as part of the ECMA's in 2007. In a rather fitting twist of the fates, they went on to earn three ECMA nominations in their first year of award eligibility in 2009 — Rising Star Recording of the Year, Alternative Recording of the Year, and Video of the Year. They also received a Digital Video of the Year for "Throw Me to the Rats", a track from their 2008 CD, "You Will Land With A Thud".
Tom Fun dives headfirst into jump and swing tones making them feel homegrown, then to further fan the flames of innovation, the band imports elements of punk, vaudeville and cabaret into the mix, always demanding their audiences' undivided attention as they go. Through it all, singer/songwriter, Ian MacDougall, ensures that the group is wound into a tight frenzy at the beginning of each song, like a maniacal whirling dervish intent on flooring his unsuspecting listeners before setting the players loose. What ensues is a full on workout of guitars, bass, fiddle, drums, accordion, trumpet and vocals so fierce, even you'll be exhausted by the end of their performance. It's one part Cape Breton barroom brawl, one part New Orleans bordello, one part Parisian café, and one part working class Brooklyn Irish pub, when the band takes the stage. Be assured, their middle name is Fun for good reason!
Get set for an East Coast barnburner the likes of which you've never seen before! Not for the faint of heart, Cape Breton's rolling kitchen party known as the Tom Fun Orchestra is a nine-piece ball of energy filled with the spirit and passion of Nova Scotia's deep musical roots. In truth, this band is more of a three-ring circus than an orchestra, successfully steering away from overdone Celtic rock clichés, instead bellowing last-call urgency in songs that aim for Springsteen-esque heights with dashes of New Orleans jazz thrown in for good measure.
The Tom Fun Orchestra formed as a result of an impromptu performance by a group of friends at the 2005 East Coast Music Awards in Sydney, and then also performed as part of the ECMA's in 2007. In a rather fitting twist of the fates, they went on to earn three ECMA nominations in their first year of award eligibility in 2009 — Rising Star Recording of the Year, Alternative Recording of the Year, and Video of the Year. They also received a Digital Video of the Year for "Throw Me to the Rats", a track from their 2008 CD, "You Will Land With A Thud".
Tom Fun dives headfirst into jump and swing tones making them feel homegrown, then to further fan the flames of innovation, the band imports elements of punk, vaudeville and cabaret into the mix, always demanding their audiences' undivided attention as they go. Through it all, singer/songwriter, Ian MacDougall, ensures that the group is wound into a tight frenzy at the beginning of each song, like a maniacal whirling dervish intent on flooring his unsuspecting listeners before setting the players loose. What ensues is a full on workout of guitars, bass, fiddle, drums, accordion, trumpet and vocals so fierce, even you'll be exhausted by the end of their performance. It's one part Cape Breton barroom brawl, one part New Orleans bordello, one part Parisian café, and one part working class Brooklyn Irish pub, when the band takes the stage. Be assured, their middle name is Fun for good reason!
