Winner of the Troubadour Foundation’s Keeping the Flame Alive Award, Les Thomas is a Melbourne singer-songwriter whose songs find the human stories in history, working lives and everyday relationships.

With a warm baritone, an ear for a memorable melody and a gift for narrative, Les moves between the personal and the political without losing sight of the people at the centre of each song. His performances bring humour, compassion and conviction to stories of family, love, loss, migration and resistance.

His third album, I Remember Everything, has drawn acclaim in Australia and the UK. Americana UK called it “an absolute gem which should be studied line by line in schools”; Morning Star awarded it five stars; and RnR Magazine wrote that Les has “a voice that demands the attention.” Every track on the album has received radio airplay.

In 2026, Les completed a UK tour that included the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival and shows in folk clubs, bookshops and listening rooms across England. He returned to Melbourne for a full-band hometown launch at Northcote Social Club, where the songs met an audience ready to sing, laugh and feel every word.

Les performs solo with guitar and harmonica, as a duo, and with his band, Les Thomas & the Living. Across each setting, the heart of the show remains the same: carefully made songs, engaging stories and a connection with the room.

Selected praise

“An absolute gem which should be studied line by line in schools.”
Americana UK ★★★★☆

“A politically conscious album relevant to the current world.”
Morning Star ★★★★★

“Les Thomas has a voice that demands the attention.”
RnR Magazine

“Poignantly personal and deeply humanist.”
FATEA

“Les Thomas underlines what it means to be human.”
Liverpool Sound and Vision 8.5/10

“A great storyteller with a great story to tell.”
David Astle, ABC Radio Melbourne

“On stage with only guitar and harmonica accompaniment Les Thomas is a force to be reckoned with.”
Mike Jones, Queen’s Head Folk Club, Belper

“His music moves people.”
Kavisha Mazzella AM

“Les Thomas is one hell of a songwriter.”
Bill Chambers