MEET THE ARTIST

Derek Thomas

Laguna Beach singer-songwriter and guitarist whose atmospheric Americana, indie folk and fingerstyle playing connect original songs with a life shaped by the ocean, travel and deep listening.

Derek’s songs invite close attention: to the movement of a guitar line, the grain of a voice and the feeling behind a story. At JAX SongStage, that intimacy has room to carry.

Official artist site →

Follow Derek Thomas on JAXblast

Derek Thomas · photograph courtesy of the artist’s 2026 media kit

Just like our Artists, you too belong to our JAX family.

WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW THEM

A wider life behind the songs.

THE MUSICAL ARC

From psychedelia to the songwriter’s chair.

Before his current acoustic work, Derek explored psychedelic music with 60 Watt Kid and the folk, roots and country colors of Skyline Drive.

Derek Thomas surfing, from his official 2026 media kit; photograph marked FOTOMAS

BEYOND THE BANDSTAND

The ocean is part of the story.

Years in Indonesia, the Maldives and Nicaragua sit behind his return to music. Surfing, retreat work and songwriting remain connected parts of his life.

THE LIVE RECORD

A concert became a record.

Live at the Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center grew from a performance rather than a planned album session. The venue’s board recordings gave that evening a second life.

THE STORY

A winding path back to the listening room.

Derek Thomas’s musical life has moved through several settings: the exploratory sound of 60 Watt Kid, the Americana of Skyline Drive, and the direct exchange of a singer, a guitar and a room. His current songs carry that range without needing to announce it. Fingerstyle lines and a weathered vocal lead the listener toward the story. His early path included music classes at Santa Barbara City College, training at Musicians Institute and intensive study with Rick Barda in Topanga. Skyline Drive’s Topanga Ranch Motel placed his writing in a roots setting, with pedal steel, vocal harmonies and arrangements that gave the songs space. Then the itinerary widened. Years of living and working abroad took him through Indonesia and the Maldives to Nicaragua. There he founded Casa Soul Water, bringing surf travel together with retreat hosting, breathwork and meditation. His official biography now describes a life divided between Nicaragua and Laguna Beach. The return to performing produced an unexpected document. A Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center concert became the basis of his 2026 live EP after bassist and sound engineer Sid Greenbough mixed the venue’s board recordings. The appeal is the exchange between musicians as the songs unfold. At Campus JAX, the connection continues through JAX SongStage. Derek performed here on June 23, 2026 and returns on October 20. The selected JAX recordings below offer three ways into his writing: the reflective Beyond My Mind, the searching Be Careful of the Stories That You Keep, and the playful You Got Skills.

CAREER & COLLABORATIONS

Follow the changing sound.

These earlier projects and musical relationships add context to the artist heard at JAX SongStage.

EARLIER EXPLORATIONS

60 Watt Kid

Derek’s psychedelic project forms an earlier chapter of a career now centered on original songs and intimate performance.

Explore Derek’s musical story →

AMERICANA

Skyline Drive · Topanga Ranch Motel

A 2012 Lonesome Highway review documents Derek’s writing alongside Erik Kristiansen’s pedal steel and Leslie Stevens’s guest vocals. Thomas shared production work with Mike Derricate and John Lawson.

Read the album review →

THE LIVE COLLABORATION

Sid Greenbough and the house recording

The bassist and sound engineer mixed the board recordings that helped turn the Laguna Beach concert into a release.

Read the contributed SPIN feature →

RECORDINGS & MEDIA

Start with a song. Follow it further.

Hear the live EP, explore Derek’s own channels, then return to the JAX SongStage performances below.

2026 · LIVE EP

Live at the Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center

The concert recording gathers Derek’s current writing and band interplay in a listening-room setting.

Listen to the live EP →

FIRST LISTEN

Running Fast Ain’t Free

A single from the live project; another entry into the combination of guitar, voice and storytelling heard in this chapter.

Listen to the single →

OFFICIAL CHANNEL

Derek Thomas Music

Continue into artist-published recordings and performances through the YouTube channel linked from his official media kit.

Visit Derek’s YouTube channel →

AT CAMPUS JAX

Three songs, three points of entry.

Beyond My Mind, Be Careful of the Stories That You Keep and You Got Skills are preserved as individual performances in the JAX SongStage archive.

Watch Beyond My Mind at JAX →

EDUCATION & TEACHING

The practice beyond the performance.

Music study, surf travel and retreat work offer different perspectives on Derek’s creative life.

MUSICAL FOUNDATIONS

Study, place and persistence.

An SBCC-sponsored alumni feature follows his music classes in Santa Barbara, later training at Musicians Institute and study with Rick Barda in Topanga.

Read the SBCC alumni story →

SURF & RETREAT WORK

Soul Water Surf · Casa Soul Water

Derek’s founder biography describes his work hosting retreats and guiding breathwork and meditation. It provides another window into the attention and presence that inform his life.

Meet the Soul Water founder →

SONGS & STORIES

Go beyond the set.

START HERE · VIDEO SINGLE · FEATURED ARTIST · Jul 3, 2026

Beyond My Mind — Derek Thomas at JAX SongStage

Derek Thomas performs his original song Beyond My Mind at Campus JAX. A JAX SongStage video single published July 3, 2026; presented separately from tonight’s broadcast.

MORE TO DISCOVER

Derek Thomas: songs & stories

Post-produced songs, conversations, shorts and stories from the JAX archive.

BE IN THE ROOM

Next at Campus JAX

● LIVE

Oct 20, 6:30 PM