The phone call came in, and it was the kind of news that makes all the late-night rehearsals and early-morning vocal warmups worth it. Kids Rock for Kids wanted TommyG back in New York City. Another set of performances. Another chance to hit those legendary stages where music history gets made every night.
The invitation validated everything that went down this summer when TommyG joined Pangea—that international powerhouse of young musicians who tore through The Mercury Lounge, The Bitter End, and DROM like they owned the place. Apparently, the folks at Kids Rock for Kids remembered. You don’t get callbacks in this business unless you delivered something worth remembering.
But before TommyG packs his bags for the December trip, he’s been plenty busy right in Texas. October turned into one of those months where the calendar fills up fast and the performances just keep coming. On October 12th, TommyG and his band Z-ALPHA hit the stage at the Circle Around the Moon festival in Katy Asian Town, and they absolutely brought it. The energy was high, the crowd was responsive, and the band clicked in that way that only happens when musicians are genuinely locked in together.
Festival performances have a different vibe than club gigs or school shows. There’s more space, more people, more variables to manage. But TommyG and Z-ALPHA handled it smoothly, running through their set with the kind of professionalism that suggested they’d done this a hundred times before. The Circle Around the Moon crowd got their money’s worth, and TommyG added another solid notch to his growing list of successful performances.
The Halloween season kept things rolling with an appearance at the Monster Mash Bash Halloween Festival, put together by one of the local junior high schools. Then came the November 2nd show at Katy Vibes restaurant and venue, where TommyG and Z-ALPHA kept building that crucial local following. These hometown gigs matter. They’re where you develop your sound, test new material, and remind your community why they should pay attention.
Now TommyG is looking ahead to Katy Idol, the local competition where he’ll square off against other talented singers from the area. Competitions are a different animal than regular performances—there’s scoring, there’s judging, there’s direct comparison with other artists. But if this summer taught him anything, it’s how to handle pressure.
Think about what went down in July. TommyG flew to New York and spent three weeks at the Joffrey Ballet School’s Musical Theater Summer Intensive, learning choreography from shows like The Lion King, Wicked, Hell’s Kitchen, and more. He wasn’t just taking classes—he landed a lead role as Simba and performed it with the kind of commitment that turned heads. Dance, acting, singing, all of it happening simultaneously while working with instructors who’ve been on Broadway stages themselves.
Then came the Kids Rock for Kids festival, where everything was amplified. Suddenly TommyG was sharing stages with Yoyoka Soma on drums, Bay Melnick Virgolino and Aanika Pai on guitars, Maximo Olmedo on bass, and Olivia Catalano on vocals. These kids came from Japan, Chile, Gibraltar, New York, and Texas, and somehow they formed Pangea—a band that made audiences believe in the power of young musicians to create something genuinely powerful.
Standing on The Bitter End stage had to hit different. Over 50 years of history in those walls. Stevie Wonder played there. Bob Dylan. Lady Gaga before she became Lady Gaga. That’s the kind of venue where you either rise to the moment or you don’t. TommyG rose to it. All of them did.
The journey from singing in primary school assemblies to performing at iconic New York venues reads like fiction, but it’s just TommyG’s reality now. His sister used to sing in the car, and that inspired him to start. His dad helped push the career forward. His singing teachers shaped his technique. Covid lockdown meant more lessons, more practice, more focus. One thing led to another, and suddenly he’s the kid from Katy who’s making international connections through music.
December in New York is going to be cold, probably snowing, definitely nothing like a Texas summer. But TommyG will be back on those stages soon. The invitation proves he’s not a one-time story. He’s an artist who’s consistently showing up and delivering. That upcoming trip to NYC isn’t the finish line. It’s just another mile marker on a road that keeps getting more interesting with every turn.
