‘Don’t pass out on me, man,’ says Teddy Swims at one point during his Scarborough set, urging audience members to drink water as well as alcohol.
By Miles Salter
Photos by Dave Lee
His appearance is fearsome – a big man, covered with tattoos – but his heart may be something much softer. Possessing a wonderfully soulful voice, Swims opens the first of two sold out nights at Scarborough with The Door, one of the best singles of the last eighteen months, a song that is full of urgency, groove, and power.
33-year-old Swims (real name Jaten Collin Dimsdale) fronts an awesome band of five musicians and three backing singers. Collectively, they’re known as Freak Freely. There’s something about American bands. They’re so tight, so together. The backing singers lock together with amazing harmonies.
Swims’ music is an intriguing mixture. You feel the presence of plenty of black artists. He listened to Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Al Green when he was younger. There’s a touch of county, with a delivery that is reminiscent of Chris Stapleton. Plenty of audience members are wearing cowboy hats. There’s also a rock ingredient. His twin lead guitar players can shred with the best of them, and the band play a note-perfect cover of Van Halen’s Jump two thirds of the way through the set.
The band is a blend of four black and five white musicians. Five of them wear baseball caps. We could be in the Bronx or in the Deep South, or maybe both. Christian Griswold on bass, with beard, baseball cap and open shirt over a T-shirt, looks as if he could be fixing pick-up trucks somewhere in Alabama instead of underpinning grooves. The crossover appeal of Swims is the kind of thing that record companies cannot get enough of – an artist that appeals to multiple audiences.
Now a father with a son to consider, the singer seems well balanced and grounded. He speaks of friends who have died in tragic circumstances. ‘Make sure you check on your friends… you never know what’s going on,’ he says at one point and talks of the power of honest and open communication. ‘Being vulnerable has been the best thing that ever happened to me.’
The songs are dramatic, with elemental references. She Loves the Rain is the title of one. Bed on Fire is another. There’s a lot at stake in these songs. ‘I’m guilty, if having a bleeding heart is a crime,’ run the lyrics of Guilty. In Bed on Fire, the narrator falls to his knees and howls at the moon.
A large section of the Scarborough audience is female, revelling in the emotion and energy. They sing along to the set closers Guilty and Lose Control. It would be good to see him return to Scarborough, but I suspect he’s heading for stadiums. A ferocious band, great songs, and a great voice.
Miles Salter is a writer and musician based in York. He fronts the band Miles and The Chain Gang.
Teddy Swims played at Scarborough Open Air Theatre on Wednesday 22 July 2026.