TOM RUSH CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF MUSIC @ SOPAC

TOM RUSH
Co-headliner: John Sebastian

WHEN: Friday, October 11, 8 PM
WHERE: South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC),1 SOPAC Way, South Orange, NJ
TICKETS: $27-$55
For more information and to purchase tickets: call 973.313.ARTS, or visit the http://www.sopacnow.org/567/john-sebastian-tom-rush website.

The master folk performer and song-finder marks his half-century career with live concert CD/DVD featuring his classic repertoire and musical guests David Bromberg, Jonathan Edwards and others!

Since Tom Rush’s 1962 debut as an unknown folk-blues musician on the Boston/Cambridge music scene, he has established himself as a consummate performer and singer-songwriter well-known for his “golden ears” in discovering new talent (he was the first to record songs by then-unknowns James Taylor, Jackson Browne, and Joni Mitchell).

To mark his five-decade career anniversary, Tom chose to revive his much missed annual “Club 47 Series” (named after the Boston coffeehouse that was the city’s early folk HQ). He organized a holiday concert at Boston Symphony Hall last December, playing his own set and hosting old friends (fellow Appleseed artists David Bromberg and Jonathan Edwards, Buskin & Batteau) and new (Dom Flemons of the Grammy-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops string band) as featured frontmen and as backing musicians for himself and each other. .

The sounds and sights of this historic and delightful concert at now available on Tom’s new 2-disc live CD/DVD, Celebrates 50 Years of Music. On the 13-song CD and 17-song DVD, Tom displays his intimate, conversational baritone vocals, adept guitar-work, relaxed charm and droll humor in a program encompassing all phases of his career – the folk-blues of “Drop Down Mama,” a rocking “Who Do You Love,” his best-known composition, “No Regrets” (a hit in four different genres as recorded by other artists), the definitive version of Joni Mitchell’s “Urge for Going,” and recent originals “Hot Tonight” and “What I Know,” among other signature songs.

In the inclusive “Club 47 Series” spirit, Tom is backed by a stellar house band that includes many of his guests when they’re not in the spotlight themselves. David Bromberg steps out front on the acoustic “Statesboro Blues” and the raucous shuffle “Tongue” (a bonus track on the DVD). Jonathan Edwards contributes a heartfelt rendition of the ’60s anthem, “Get Together,” and the title song from his most recent CD, “My Love Will Keep.” There’s a hilarious song on the DVD called “Jews Don’t Camp” by New England-based folk veterans Buskin & Batteau, who also perform the delicate “Lancelot’s Song (Guinevere)” on the CD. The “new guy,” singer and multi-instrumentalist Dom Flemons, makes himself at home on the old-timey “Your Baby Ain’t Sweet Like Mine” and Jimmie Rodgers’ “My Little Lady.”

Reviewing the new CD, the All Music Guide wrote, “Rush makes each song seem as dependable and solid as the earth itself, somehow mixing a wistful weariness in his voice with an underlying and unerring joyfulness, the same sort of thing he's been doing for half a century now. That he's still doing it as well as he ever has is a testament to his talent and character.”

Rush is no stranger to newer generations of music fans. A live YouTube clip of Tom performing the hilarious “Remember Song” has drawn more than six million hits in the past few years, so he’s reaching a wider audience than ever. His relaxed, expressive baritone, accomplished guitar-playing, droll humor and infallible taste in writing and choosing material have made him a perennial favorite among folk-oriented music lovers. Exclaim Magazine in Canada nailed it: “Never miss a chance to see Tom Rush live: he’s got that rare one-of-a-kind quality that makes you realize you’ve seen somebody who really matters.”

DVD bonus features include interviews with Tom and behind-the-scenes rehearsal footage, as well as the four extra songs and onstage banter. When you listen to and watch and laugh and sing along as Tom Rush Celebrates 50 Years of Music, the vibrant spirit of contemporary folk music will be reaffirmed. And don’t miss for Tom’s fall tour!