[Photo credit to Brian Sweeney]

Based in Glasgow, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ant Thomaz has carved out a sound that bridges the Louisiana and Scotland. Blending Indie Folk, soul and Celtic Rock, he draws on storytelling and personal experience.

His new album Gaia is his most personal work to date. Named after his daughter, the record was inspired by Thomaz’s experience of parenting a child with a disability in a world that often underestimates potential. When doctors warned that Gaia might face learning and physical limitations, Thomaz and his wife instead “built a home centered around creativity, language and imagination.”

Thomaz explains:

The title Gaia represents the foundation of everything. It’s about seeing the full humanity in people that society often overlooks. We didn’t just want Gaia to survive. We wanted her to soar.

That idea runs through the album. At its heart lies a lesson Thomaz was given as a teenager by a mentor who shared “the story of the eagle and the crow.” Rather than fighting negativity, the eagle simply flies higher until the crow can no longer keep up. The message, often repeated to him as “soar higher, son,” became a guiding philosophy that now sits at the centre of Gaia.

The album’s focus track, “The Night Is Young,” was written after Thomaz had a conversation with a close family mentor facing difficult news. Focused on themes of “acceptance and perspective”, the song “reflects on time as something to be lived rather than controlled, offering a simple but powerful reminder to stay present.”

Thomaz’s musical journey began busking on the streets of Glasgow before growing into performances across festival stages and venues throughout the UK. Along the way he has shared stages with artists including Starsailor, Eddi Reader, Georgia Cecile, Kool & The Gang, Briana Corrigan of The Beautiful South, Big Country, Mànran, Sheku Kanneh-Mason and Sandi Thom. He has appeared at festivals including Celtic Connections, Belladrum, and Edinburgh Fringe.