The Paul Thorn Band

Paul Thorn Band Live at Arlington Music Hall!

Join us on Thursday, April 10, 2025, at 7:30 PM for an unforgettable evening with the Paul Thorn Band at Arlington Music Hall! Known for their electrifying live performances and soulful grooves, Paul Thorn and his band will have you moving to their unique blend of blues, rock, and Americana.

This is your chance to experience the energy and talent of one of the most dynamic bands around—live and in person! Bring your friends and get ready for a night filled with incredible music, captivating storytelling, and unforgettable moments.

Don't miss out—get your tickets now and join us for a night to remember at Arlington Music Hall!

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Paul Thorn Biography: “Life Is Just A Vapor”

When it comes to songwriting, less is more, and simplicity is strength. Just ask Paul Thorn, who’s spent three decades turning soulful grooves and small syllables into songs that pack a big wallop. Maybe he learned the power of minimalism from his years as a pro boxer; maybe it just comes naturally. But whether he’s targeting heads, hearts, hips, or the occasional funny bone, he somehow manages to condense large nuggets of wisdom into tight little mantras—the kind embroiderers stitched onto pillows before internet memes existed.

Thorn’s new album, Life is Just A Vapor, contains some beauties: “Life is a vapor, let’s live it while we can”; “tough times don’t last, but tough people do” (from “Tough Times Don’t Last”); “any mountain up ahead is just a hill” (from “Old Melodies”). They’re words of advice, comfort, support, and encouragement, often meant to uplift, especially in times of struggle.

“I like for people to be touched by music and get something from it, something that they can take with them throughout the day,” Thorn says. “Every song on this album, there's a message in it of some sort about how to live life.”

American Blues Scene writer Don Wilcock calls Thorn “an everyman [who] addresses things we all think about, but few can articulate with the kind of candor, humor, and folksy truth that immediately endears him to almost everyone lucky enough to hear his music.”

Whether he’s expressing love in “I Knew,” warning an ex’s new conquest about the dangers ahead in “She Will,” extolling the value of holding off on sex in “Wait,” or listing the ingredients for making a marriage work in “Courage My Love” (“a half-acre on your daddy’s land / and a little luck / a load of white gravel in our driveway / so we don’t get stuck in a rut / a 3-horsepower lawnmower and courage my love”), Thorn delivers his messages with consummate skill—and pinpoint precision. One minute, he’ll unwind an outrageous tale full of wild characters (often accompanied by his own cartoonish illustrations); the next, he’ll tug at heartstrings with confessions of love, loss, or failed dreams, balancing wit and pathos with an ease only the best storytellers can pull off. One of Thorn’s favorites was his friend and mentor John Prine, who inspired the title tune.

We’ll discuss that one in a bit, but first, we should mention that in “Wait,” a commentary about dating in the Tinder era, the fella who buys his dates dinner with a two-for-$20 coupon is someone Thorn actually knows. “Geraldine and Ricky” is based on real people, too—well, a real person and her hickory-headed dummy. Nearly all of these songs, whether written solo or with collaborators like Billy Maddox, Chuck Cannon, Scotty Brassfield, or Denny Carr, are inspired by or reference actual events or people. Geraldine was a traveling evangelist who couldn’t connect with children until she tried ventriloquism. When she spread the Lord’s word through Ricky, kids were mesmerized —including 5-year-old Thorn, who requested and got a ventriloquist doll for Christmas.

“I would get up and tell jokes at church, and I'd take it to school and tell jokes at school,” he says, with that Tupelo, Miss.-formed accent and instantly charming, matter-of-fact delivery. “I had my mind up that when I grew up, I was going to be a ventriloquist.” (His singing career actually began at 3—in church, of course; Thorn’s dad was a Pentecostal minister.)

But Life is Just a Vapor is not all homilies and humor. “I’m Just Waiting,” a catchy, funky tune featuring blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa, deftly examines relationship insecurity. In “Chicken Wing,” a former pimp and scam artist admits: “I’m in the winter of my life / I love my dog, I like my wife / I wash the dishes, I sweep the floor / I keep a 12-gauge behind the door.”

Two of the album’s most poignant songs contemplate the passage of time. “Old Melodies,” the kind of song a retro-country-loving couple might dance to after renewing their wedding vows, suggests challenges are easier to face with a partner by your side. “It's about being together through life, and that's where I'm at,” Thorn says. “I'm 60 years old, and the stuff I'm writing about and singing about is for people that get what being 60 years old is.” Then he reveals the song’s sobering origin.

“We had a family problem a long time ago, a relative that ran off the tracks with drugs and everything,” he explains. “When my dad was dealing with the pain of the heartache that somebody he loved was in a dark hole, he was just standing there, crying. And he said, ‘Man, Amazing Grace used to be my favorite song, but now it’s We Shall Overcome.’”

Thorn’s gospel influences shine in tracks like “Life is Just a Vapor,” which draws from scripture. Thorn even recalls a humorous incident with John Prine that inspired the album’s title track, in which the two shared a memorable moment eating ice cream at a hotel after a show.

In his humble and heartwarming style, Thorn concludes, “I'm just trying to put out a good body of work that will be remembered like John's music. I'm trying to carry on his tradition, to keep it alive.”

Prine would have loved this album, and the lyrics he inspired might even motivate someone to grab some thread and start stitching: “Shoulda, woulda, coulda, I’ll do it someday / Turns into time just slippin’ away / The hourglass is runnin’ out of sand / Life is a vapor. Let’s live it while we can.”

Host or Publisher Arlington Music Hall