Tom Rush

Tom Rush with Matt Nakoa

Tom Rush is a gifted musician and performer, whose shows offer a musical celebration...a
journey into the tradition and spectrum of what music has been, can be, and will become.
His distinctive guitar style, wry humor and warm, expressive voice have made him both a
legend and a lure to audiences around the world. His shows are filled with the rib-aching
laughter of terrific story-telling, the sweet melancholy of ballads and the passion of gritty
blues
Rush's impact on the American music scene has been profound. He helped shape the folk
revival in the '60s and the renaissance of the '80s and '90s, his music having left its stamp
on generations of artists. James Taylor told Rolling Stone, "Tom was not only one of my
early heroes, but also one of my main influences." Country music star Garth Brooks has
credited Rush with being one of his top five musical influences. Rush has long championed
emerging artists. His early recordings introduced the world to the work of Joni Mitchell,
Jackson Browne and James Taylor, and in more recent years his Club 47 concerts have
brought artists such as Nanci Griffith and Shawn Colvin to wider audiences when they were
just beginning to build their own reputations.
Tom Rush began his musical career in the early '60s playing the Boston-area clubs while a
Harvard student. The Club 47 was the flagship of the coffee house fleet, and he was soon
holding down a weekly spot there, learning from the legendary artists who came to play,
honing his skills and growing into his talent. He had released two albums by the time he
graduated.
Rush displayed then, as he does today, an uncanny knack for finding wonderful songs, and
writing his own - many of which have become classics re-interpreted by new generations.
(It is testimony to the universality of his appeal that his songs have been folk hits, country
hits, heavy metal and rap hits.) Signed by Elektra in 1965, Rush made three albums for
them, culminating in The Circle Game, which, according to Rolling Stone, ushered in the
singer/songwriter era.
In the early '70s, folk turned to folk-rock, and Rush, ever adaptable, saw more room to
stretch out. Recording now for Columbia, he toured tirelessly with a five man band, playing
concerts across the country. Endless promotional tours, interviews, television appearances,
and recording sessions added up to five very successful but exhausting years, after which
Tom decided to take a break and "recharge" his creative side at his New Hampshire farm.
Rush returned with a splash in 1981, selling out Boston's prestigious Symphony Hall in
advance. Time off had not only rekindled Rush's love of music, it had re-ignited music
audiences' love of Rush.
Today, Tom Rush lives in New Hampshire when he's not touring. His voice has grown even
richer and more melodic with training, and his music, like a fine wine, has matured and
ripened in the blending of traditional and modern influences. He's doing what he loves, and
what audiences love him for: writing and playing ...passionately, tenderly...knitting together
the musical traditions and talents of our times