Resumé and Discography

Tommy Detamore is an acclaimed engineer, producer, musician, and owner of Cherry Ridge Studio in Floresville, Texas. He has recorded, engineered, produced, mastered and played steel guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo, and dobro on well over 100 albums. He has produced numerous top-ten hits on the Americana and Texas Music charts.

In 2002 Tommy engineered a recording that received a Grammy nomination for “Best Country Instrumental”. The song was Bill Kirchen’s “Poultry in Motion”.

In 2008 the Academy of Western Artists named him Record Producer of the Year.

A native of Charlottesville, Virginia, Tommy graduated from Albemarle High School with honors and went on to attend Virginia Polytechnic and State University in Blacksburg.  In 1978 he graduated cum laude from Piedmont Virginia Community College with a degree in education.

That same year he studied with steel guitar great Buddy Charleton. All throughout his high school, college, and post-college years Tommy played guitar and later pedal steel guitar in area bands until 1981, when he moved to Texas to play steel guitar with Darrell McCall.  The following year he joined Moe Bandy’s band, and toured extensively for the next seven years in Europe and the U.S., while also making numerous live television and radio appearances including The Grand Ole Opry, Hee Haw, Nashville Now, and New Country.

In 1989 he teamed up with Johnny Bush and the Banderleros and played throughout the southwestern United States.  After a summer tour with Ronnie Milsap in 1990, Tommy joined Clay Blaker’s “Texas Honky-Tonk Band” and spent the next 13 years playing numerous dates throughout Europe and again throughout the southwest.

In 1991 Tommy founded Cherry Ridge Studio in Floresville, where he began making his own demos as well as and demos and albums for other clients.

Since he began his career, Tommy has played with many other great artists including Ray Price, Jim Lauderdale, Doug Sahm, The Texas Tornados, Sunny Sweeney, Bobby Flores, Rick Trevino, Raul Malo, Kevin Fowler, Bill Kirchen (Commander Cody), Redd Volkaert, Jason Allen, Jamie Richards, Rodney Hayden, The Deraillers, Dave Jorgenson, Pauline Reese, Ed Burleson, and many more.

Always active in church music, Tommy has played guitar and steel guitar at San Antonio’s Trinity Baptist Church, served as Pastor of Music at Floresville’s Oak Hills Baptist Church, and served as chief sound engineer as well as a frequent instrumentalist at the First Baptist Church in Floresville. He currently plays guitar in the band at Life Church in La Vernia.

Tommy was recently a featured performer in a live country music show, “San Antonio Rose Live”, that ran for three years at the historic Aztec Theatre on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas. Tommy continues to operate Cherry Ridge Studio, and Steel Guitar Tracks Online.

Tommy and his wife, Sandy, live near Floresville, Texas.  They have one son, Thomas, who is a pharmacy technician.

Tommy Detamore uses and endorses: Jagwire Strings / Schertler Pickups / BJS bars / Hilton Volume Pedals / Steeler’s Choice Seats /  Sonic Research Tuners / George L’s Cables / Pork Pie Percussion / Soultone Cymbals / Mojave Audio Microphones

There is a selected discography at Allmusic.com.