Grand Forks, ND, native Tom Brosseau grew up with music, listening to Marty Robbins, Bob Dylan, Pablo Casals, and Leadbelly, with a bluegrass-playing grandmother who taught him the guitar and a grandfather who had a band and a large record collection. After graduating from the University of North Dakota, Brosseau enrolled in music school but dropped out after only a few weeks, feeling that music theory classes took the fun out of playing. Instead, he started performing at open mic nights around Grand Forks, and eventually moved to San Diego, CA, where he was introduced to musician Gregory Page, who ended up recording and producing much of Brosseau's early material.