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Tommy Z Lets the Audience Lead the Way on ‘Live in Colombia’

By Kath Galasso on September 24, 2026

The audience is often treated as background sound on a concert album. On Tommy Z’s forthcoming Live in Colombia, the people inside Teatro Santander help define the recording’s character.

That role is clearest on the latest single, “Dónde Está La Fiesta.” Tommy asks where the party is, leaving space for the room to respond. The reply comes from hundreds of people shouting “Bucaramanga” together, followed later by another eruption as he plays a guitar solo behind his head.

The song will appear on Tommy Z Is Live in Colombia, scheduled for release October 23, 2026 through South Blossom Records. Captured during Tommy’s third tour of the country, the album is believed to be the first live blues collection recorded in Colombia by an American artist.

Its origins were relatively informal. During soundcheck, Tommy asked Teatro Santander’s engineers if the concert could be recorded. The decision to turn the audio into an album came later, after he listened back and heard how clearly the connection with the audience had been preserved.

That connection was already rooted in years of travel and musical exchange. Tommy initially visited Colombia as a cultural ambassador after a friend at the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá introduced him to a festival director. His tours combined instruction at blues masterclasses with appearances at universities, theaters and festivals.

The full album moves through 14 tracks, including song introductions and the encore. “Pumpin’ (Let’s Have Fun)” opens the set, while “Let’s All Take a Bow!” closes it. Along the way, the band performs “Gangster of Love,” “Plug In and Play,” “Tommy Guns and “The Blues Has Got to Come Home.”

Those selections connect the evening to several stages of Tommy’s career. “The Blues Has Got to Come Home” dates back decades, while “Tommy Guns” emerged from a collaboration with Tom Hambridge and Richard Fleming. The album format allows both songs to exist within the same unfolding performance.

Tommy mixed the record himself, applying skills developed through his composing and production work for film and television. His experience outside the studio includes touring with Pinetop Perkins, performing with Buddy Guy and working with Benny Turner.

A 2007 induction into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame recognized his place in his hometown’s musical community. His albums Blizzard of Blues and Plug In and Play later reached the Top 10 on Billboard’s Blues Albums chart, while his current activities include teaching guitar and operating WBLZ, Blizzard of Blues Radio.

“Dónde Está La Fiesta” is out now, and Tommy Z Is Live in Colombia is available to pre-save and pre-order ahead of October 23. More information can be found at Tommy Z’s official website.