Tom Power (musician)

Tom Power
Born	(1987-05-01) May 1, 1987 (age 37) St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Alma mater	Memorial University
Career
Show	Q
Network	CBC Radio One
Country	Canada

Tom Power (born May 1, 1987) is a Canadian musician and broadcaster, best known as the host of Q on CBC Radio One,^[1] previously the host of Deep Roots and Radio 2 Morning on CBC Radio 2. In August 2016, he was named as the permanent new host of Q, succeeding Shad.^[2]

Based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Power began hosting Deep Roots in 2008 while he was a student of folklore at Memorial University of Newfoundland.^[3] Just 21 years old at the time, he was the youngest host of a national program on CBC Radio since Peter Jennings.^[3] After Bob Mackowycz's departure as host of Radio 2 Morning in July 2011, Power spent several weeks as the show's interim host before being named the permanent new host in November.^[4]

In 2018, he appeared on CBC Television as cohost with Amanda Parris of the music series From the Vaults.

Power is a member of the Polaris Music Prize jury, and has hosted numerous folk festivals, including the Hillside, Mariposa, Edmonton and Winnipeg festivals.

Power is a member of the award-winning folk band, The Dardanelles.^[3] His sister Erin Power is also a musician, who records and performs with the children's musical group The Swinging Belles.^[5]

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, Power hosted the CBC Television talk show What're You At? with Tom Power, which featured him interviewing both celebrities and ordinary Canadians remotely from his home studio.^[6]

Power was raised as a Catholic and left the faith due to Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in Canada, only returning to spirituality in the 2010s.^[7]

References

1. "CBC ponders new name for ‘Q’ in light of Jian Ghomeshi scandal". CityNews, November 12, 2014.
2. "CBC's Q replacing Shad as host". CBC News, August 15, 2016.
3. Hayward, Karla (June 6, 2008). "Fast-movin' folkie". The Telegram. Archived from the original on March 10, 2012. Retrieved October 15, 2009.
4. "CBC Announces New Host for CBC Radio 2 Morning". Broadcaster. November 17, 2011. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015.
5. "Inside CBC Radio’s new ‘q’ with Tom Power". Toronto Star, October 29, 2016.
6. Pinto, Jordan (April 3, 2020). "CBC switches up Sunday nights, puts Tom Power in primetime". Playback. Archived from the original on May 11, 2020.
7. "U2 are more punk than you think they are. Bono on the raw faith that has fuelled 46 years" (Podcast). Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. April 7, 2023. Event occurs at c. 40:00.