There's nothing better than hitting the road and taking in the beautiful sights and sounds of New Zealand, says musician Tom Lee-Richards.

After years of plying his trade in Melbourne, the Kiwi musician is home and embarking on his Madness New Zealand solo-tour which kicks off at Mount Maunganui's The Hop House tonight.

'It's my first time performing in the Mount. The last time I was there I was probably 16, drinking beers on the beach with my buddies at New Year's.

'I'm totally looking forward to tonight's gig, I've heard some amazing things about how the Mount and Tauranga are really starting to take off.”

Describing his sound as a blend of alternative-folk and pop, Tom says tonight's gig will feature material that will appear on an EP he's looking to release at the tail-end of summer next year, some older songs, plus a couple of covers presented in his own style.

'I play electric guitar but the main thing I'm doing is vocal looping. So that's like layered harmonies and layered percussion, so it can get quite big.

'The songs also feature a lot mouth percussion, which is something I've been doing since I was about six and something that's developed into a texture I've added to a lot of songs.”

This is Tom's first solo-tour of New Zealand and coincides with the release of his latest single of the same name and its accompanying music video.

He explains ‘Madness' 'started off as a song about vulnerability and those moments when you're angry with someone you care about but you're also 'not really behaving that well”.

'You're letting out all that anger in a bunch of different ways, but not really the clearest way. It's that sort of confusion and vulnerability which is involved.”

It's a follow on from the success of Tom's last single ‘As Far As India' which he penned in dedication of his father who passed away about four years ago.

'It was a way for me to dedicate something to my father, and was a cathartic exploration in a way. I wrote it from the perspective of a kid looking up to their dad, and it has memories scattered throughout. There's a lot of things in the song that a lot of people can probably relate to.”

Tonight's gig is part of a seven-show tour which will see Tom performing as far north as Auckland and as far south as Dunedin.

He's excited to be hitting the road. His brother Ben will be accompanying for the first couple of gig, but the rest of the way he'll be by himself.

'I quite enjoy driving by myself, checking into places, checking out funny things, stopping into coffee shops, admiring the beautiful views, meeting people as you go, and then playing music on top of all that.”

Tom Lee-Richards with special guests Alice Sea and Hans Kraenzlin are on stage at The Hop House in Mount Maunganui tonight, from 7.30pm. Free entry. For more details visit The Hop House's Facebook page.

For more information about Tom Lee-Richards visit: www.facebook.com/tom.leerichards/