Fashioning his adult life around giving back to the music community, Tom Claypool has followed music for most of his life. Going to concerts and events eventually led to him hosting a blues show on WEVL FM 89.9, a non-profit, public radio station based in Memphis, TN. Tom has hosted on WEVL for 31 years, starting off playing blues then Cajun and Zydeco. For the last 17 years, Tom’s focus has been tunes from the Crescent City with his show New Orleans Big Beat that airs every Friday. Tom is no stranger to volunteering for The Blues Foundation; he’s worked with the International Blues Challenge for over 25 years, with duties ranging from MC to working in production; and 23 years on the Blues Music Awards production crew. For the past three decades, Tom has chosen to donate his time and talents to music organizations, music events, and public radio in order to give back to the community that first inspired him.