I was driving home to Angola from Kokomo via Hwy 24. It was a sunny but cold March morning. The Night before I was the house musician at a live event for the Dove Faith Cafe at Rhum Muisc Academy in Kokomo, IN. I played songs that spoke to my Faith in general. In my set, I played the old Catholic folk hymn “Be Not Afraid.” As I drove through the snow dappled feilds that dot HYWs and 31 and 24, my old Volvo wobbled a little. All the gear was in the backseat, and I felt a live, and “blessed” to be a man of song. I started to sing aloud lyrics that fit the tune and rhyme scheme of “Be Not Afraid” but were about me instead. It felt so good, I made voice memos all the way home of song ideas that seemed to come from a similar place – I knew an album was being concieved.

Two weeks later, I had a stack of songs and wrote the following to help me organize my artisitc direction if I were to really bring it to birth:

O Indiana, Vol. 2 Press Release:

“When an aging hipster hits the stride of middle life, after 25 years of music making, what does he write about? He’s apt to be a little sentimental about his youth. Yet, how does he craft songs that acknowledge some nostalgia without being mastered by it? This collection moves beyond merely gazing at the “good old days.” At times it incorporates honest looks at the present; while wondering about the future at others. That is not to say the past doesn’t hold strong sway here. Adamson seizes this 3-fold opportunity afforded to songwriters in their 40s; namely, weaving inspiration from past, present, and future. This feat is accomplished by not being overly sentimental about the past, while being true to his talents in the present without trying to copy the latest trends, and finally, by dipping his toes in the deep spiritual waters from his future late life – which lap on the shores of middle age. Tom has set this time traveling within the geographical bounds of his home state.

What follows is a partial list, chronologically ordered, of themes from the album: coming of age in a rust belt town, 80s midwestern Catholicism, the understated beauty of Indiana’s fields & forests, baby boomer parents, presenting a few self portraits of the artist as a young man (with tongue in cheek), the absurdity of celebrity culture, the unearned fidelity of his wife, amazement at having young adult children, yearning not only for spiritual transcendence but truth as well. These themes travel lyrically and musically like a road trip in the family minivan. Lastly, the listener must decide whether the reworking of familiar material by other songwriters (on a few tracks) is either a gimmick or clever use of the folk idiom to draw the listener deeper into the poignancy of the themes.

Tom took these songs on the road with him in 2022. He either incorporated them into gigs or made music videos from creative locales throughout the state. In so doing the songs took on the character of Indiana itself. A play list of the “digital postcards” can be found on YouTube.”