Hey, I'm Thom Long — musician, worship leader, father, fitness enthusiast, and proud lover of open water. Welcome to Middle-Age(d) Musician.

I've been navigating the music business — part-time, full-time, and everything in between — for decades. I've played outdoor festivals, church services, and funerals, all in the same weekend. I've hauled rented gear in my Toyota to make a gig work. I've had sets where everything clicked perfectly and sets where I had to dig deep just to get through. Sound familiar? Good. You're in the right place.

This podcast and website exist because of a simple truth: there aren't enough spaces built for us — the middle-aged musicians who still have the talent, the drive, and the joy for making music, even as life gets complicated around us. We're not chasing a record deal. We're not playing stadiums. But we're still showing up, still gigging, still growing — and that matters.

I started this project originally as a kind of legacy for my son — a way to pass down the insights, hard lessons, and genuine love for music I've accumulated over the years. It's evolved into something bigger: a community for artists who are in it for the long haul.

When I'm not behind a mic or a guitar, you'll find me serving as a worship leader, staying active in the gym, or out on the water — boating is one of my favorite ways to reset. I'm based in the Tennessee area, close enough to Nashville to catch world-class live music and far enough away to keep life a little sane.

On the podcast, I cover the real stuff: navigating life changes without losing your creative identity, handling injury and physical wear on a musician's body, reviewing gear that's actually worth your money, concert reviews from an experienced player's perspective, and the particular highs and lows of the part-time gigging life. I've also recently started talking about cruise ship gigs, the Americana and country scenes I love deeply, and the musicians, who remind me why this all matters.

This is a community, not just a podcast. If you've survived this far in the music business with your passion intact, pull up a chair. We've got a lot to talk about.

Middle-Age(d) Musician is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you listen.