LONDONDERRY – Tim Robbins has had an assortment of monikers throughout his career.

His calling card has always been his acting, starring in and winning awards for movies such as “The Shawshank Redemption,” “Bull Durham” and “Mystic River.”

Robbins has shown that he is more than that, working as a screenwriter, director and producer, as well, over the last 20 years.

But musician? Few have seen that side of Robbins before.

Robbins will show off that new musical side to New England for the first time at 7 p.m. Sunday, July 31, when he performs with The Rogues Gallery Band at the Tupelo Music Hall in Londonderry.

While few have seen Robbins strum a guitar or belt out a tune with his throaty tenor, the actor and musician has, in fact, been surrounded by melodies and compositions since birth.

His father, Gil Robbins, was an established musician in the 1960s as a member of The Highwaymen, a folk group known for their No. 1 hit “Michael.”

“The first music that I ever heard was folk music,” Robbins said. “There was always music playing in my house. We didn’t have a TV for most of my childhood, so there was just music. My imagination was really fueled by it.”

With so much musical aptitude in his blood and his surroundings drenched in sweet folk harmonies, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see Robbins become a musician. Even though he understood and appreciated music, Robbins instead brought his talents to the theater, where he has had obvious success.

Even with his cinematic accomplishments, music continued to tempt Robbins, especially when difficulties arose in his life.

“My dad would tell me that if something gets you down, then you’ve got to do something creative about it,” Robbins said. “And that’s what happened.”

Robbins took the obstacles in his life, added a guitar and soon found himself with an assortment of songs. But with an already busy life, Robbins could barely see an opportunity to record or release them.

“Whenever the opportunity did present itself, it never seemed to work out,” Robbins said.

One of those opportunities was when Robbins starred in “Bob Roberts,” a 1992 mockumentary showcasing Robbins as a Senate candidate who uses his music to reach out to voters. Robbins wrote the soundtrack, and he said he could have used that as a springboard to a music career.

However, he wanted his songs to be genuine. If Robbins were to release them at that point, he felt he would have had to compromise those values.

It wasn’t until a few years ago that Robbins finally received his chance to create music. Even then, it took him by surprise.

“I’d written all of these songs, just in my downtime,” Robbins said. “And I ended up meeting with Hal Willner, and after listening to my demos, he was just so excited. That enthusiasm really encouraged me.”

Willner, a producer known for his work with artists such as Lou Reed and Lucinda Williams, was so enthusiastic about the music that he took Robbins and quickly set him up on a tour across England.

When he wasn’t traveling or performing, Robbins was recording with Willner. The two created the nine songs that became Robbins’ debut self-titled album, which was released July 5.

The album has a folk-Americana, almost country feeling to it, which hearkens back to Robbins’ childhood and his folk music upbringings. Creating that sound across an album was certainly a new experience for Robbins, and so was playing those songs for a crowd.

Even so, Robbins said he felt surprisingly comfortable on the stage.

“When I was younger, I did have the opportunity to sing in front of the crowd,” Robbins said. “And I think that my theater experiences have definitely been similar.

“I feel like I’m doing the same thing – transforming an audience – whether it be through my words or with screenplays or with songs. It’s really not much of a difference.”

With those performances, Robbins is set on earning respect on his own terms. He doesn’t want his audience to look at him through the lens of his acting fame. He wants them to accept him for who he is as a musician – good or bad.

“I do respect the social context of what I’m doing,” Robbins said. “I was told, ‘Don’t assume audiences are paying to see you.’ I really believe you need to earn the respect of an audience.”

With that do-it-yourself attitude, maybe Robbins was born to be a little more like Bob Dylan and a little less like Nuke LaLoosh or Andy DuFresne, two of his more recognized characters. All Robbins knows is that when he walks on the Tupelo stage, he won’t take any of it for granted.

“I just feel so blessed to be able to do this,” Robbins said. “I really just felt like this was something I needed to take on, to continue to keep testing my boundaries and exploring what I can do.

“To be able to do that has absolutely been a blessing.”

Robbie Feinberg can be reached at 594-5833 or rfeinberg@nashuatelegraph.com.