"When music journalists say things like 'this artist is a fixture in Seattle music,' there’s probably no one right now who fits that title better than Nakayama." - KEXP

Born in Japan and raised in Seattle, Washington, Tomo Nakayama is an artist whose melodic, complex and emotionally compelling music has been praised by NPR, New York Times, and The Stranger. Beginning as frontman of the indie rock bands Asahi and Grand Hallway and a successful solo career spanning two decades as a singer, songwriter, composer, producer, actor, and curator, Nakayama has become one of the most active and recognizable figures in Seattle music.

After the critically acclaimed indie-folk albums “Fog on the Lens” and “Pieces of Sky” (named "Best Folk Act" by Seattle Weekly), Nakayama surprised his fans by releasing “Melonday" (Porchlight Records), a collection of instantly memorable and undeniably danceable synthpop songs. Co-produced by Yuuki Matthews (The Shins, Sufjan Stevens) and mastered by Dave Cooley (M83, Paramore, Tame Impala), “Melonday” was named one of the Top Albums of the year by Seattle Times, KEXP, and Seattle Met Magazine, and debuted at #1 on KEXP’s NW Charts. The following year he composed the music for Megan Griffith’s feature film “I’ll Show You Mine” and the KUOW podcast “Ten Thousand Things” hosted by Shin Yu Pai, and collaborated on a song with Dave Matthews to benefit SMASH (Seattle Musicians Access to Sustainable Healthcare). In 2024 his cover of Crosby Stills and Nash’s “Our House” was featured in the Netflix series “House of Ninjas”.

Nakayama has toured across the US and Japan, sharing the stage with Built to Spill, Thao, Cornelius, Daði Freyr, Fleet Foxes, Buffalo Daughter, Sons of Kemet, and Shugo Tokumaru. He has performed and collaborated with Sera Cahoone, Jherek Bischoff, Jeremy Enigk (of Sunny Day Real Estate), and experimental dance company Malacarne. He also composed music and appeared as an actor in the Lynn Shelton film “Touchy Feely” with Elliot Page and Rosemarie DeWitt. A former Artist in Residence at Seattle’s Town Hall, his sound installations and compositions have also been featured at the Museum of Northwest Art and Wing Luke Museum.

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Seattle songwriter Debbie Miller is like a tantalizing book of short stories. In fact, there are few musicians who work as diligently as she to be as narratively engaging. Her lyrics, like tightrope walkers, rollick on the taut wire of song, guiltlessly and pointedly inspiring listeners who crave more of their spectacle.