Home free indeed: Foust hears museum calling, Nederland vocalist to be inducted Wednesday
Published 12:12 am Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Home Free is the world’s first all-vocal country band, and member Tim Foust is an a capella group’s dream with his rare five-octave vocal range that allows him to sing as high as a tenor and as low as a bass.
The 37-year-old is also a performer, arranger and songwriter, releasing “Remember This” and “What’s the World Coming To” on the group’s newly released album Dive Bar Saints.
For these reasons, and many more, Museum of the Gulf Coast director Tom Neal is inducting the Nederland native into the museum’s Music Hall of Fame Wednesday at 4 p.m.
“It’s pretty surreal,” Tim Foust said. “I visited that museum as a child growing up in Southeast Texas. We used to go there on field trips and Janis Joplin always intrigued me. She reached significant status, and the fact that she was where I was from was incredible. So to be able to share a space with her in the museum is unbelievable.”
Neal said Foust meets the criteria as an honorary inductee because he has excelled in all aspects of his field.
“He’s a polished singer, songwriter, and arranger,” he said. “He had a solo career going on in Nashville before joining Home Free and winning NBC’s The Sing-Off contest during the fourth season. From then on, they have continued to exceed and rise above expectations.”
The all-male country quintet’s 2017 album Timeless secured the No. 2 debut on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.
Their latest release, Dive Bar Saints, is currently No. 7 on the American iTunes chart, which is also trending in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Canada and Australia.
“Home Free has charted albums, they’ve had singles and they have over 350 million hits on YouTube,” Neal said. “That means that people are watching these videos, and listening to their songs, it’s amazingly phenomenal.”
The vocalist’s induction was originally scheduled for Nov. 29 but due to the explosions at the TPC Group Port Neches Operations, the date was rescheduled for Jan. 22.
Foust said he is excited to finally get the ball rolling and spend sometime with friends and family back home.
“It’s exciting,” he said. “It actually kind of worked out because a lot of folks were traveling for the holiday’s before, so those people will be able to come to the show and induction that weren’t able to make it last-minute.”
Neal said he is expecting a record-breaking crowd at Wednesday’s induction.
“We are excited about this,” he said. “We are finally getting to induct Tim and for people from the local school district and area to come and see that is special. He has a lot of local support, and I think people will come out to celebrate and support him.”
Foust, along with the other four members of Home Free is in the midst of their world tour, hitting 110 cities and 16 countries including Nashville, New York, Italy, Switzerland and Australia.
Foust’s hometown of Nederland is also among the list with a benefit concert following his induction Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Nederland Performing Arts Center. A portion of the proceeds from Home Free’s ticket sales will be donated to the Nederland High School music program.
“It’s always a highlight for me to come home,” Foust said. “The community has always been really supportive of me over the last 19 years, so to be able to come back and give back to that community is special.”
For more information about Tim Foust’s induction visit https://www.museumofthegulfcoast.org/.
To purchase tickets to the concert, visit http://homefreemusic.com/#tour.