12-4-2025  (Sawtelle Room)

Tom is back for his annual pre-Christmas Show.

Tom Rush: From his early days at Club 47, the Cambridge coffeehouse that also gave Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and Judy Collins their start back in the 1960's, through 14 albums, to his sold out Club 47® concert series which has filled the likes of Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, Tom's music includes healthy doses of both folk and blues influences. His 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 humour 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.

His impact on the American music scene has been profound, helping to shape the folk revival in the ’60s and the renaissance of the ’80s and ’90s, his music 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.

He also was the first major artist to record the songs of a then-unknown Joni Mitchell. And he also recorded a number of songs from such emerging singer/songwriters of the time as Jackson Browne, Eric von Schmidt, James Taylor and Eric Kaz.

Tom’s own compositions are still lauded for their poignant, undeniable lyrics. When U2 performed on last year's Grammys, Bono was heard singing a bit of Tom Rush's "No Regrets." This version appears in their live sets, and also the live version of the song currently available on iTunes.

Today, Tom Rush lives in Massachusetts when he’s not touring. His voice has grown even richer and more melodic, and his music, like a fine wine, has matured and ripened in the blending of traditional and modern influences. He’s written a number of new songs. 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.

"... his voice is outstandingly versatile; his guitar playing is sheer genius; his sense of humor side splitting ..." Trina E. Kingsbury, MARTHA'S VINEYARD TIMES

"Probably the only man alive who should be allowed to sing Joni Mitchell songs" Eric Fidler, CHICAGO TRIBUNE. More info: www.TomRush.com

Tom will be accompanied on keyboards by Matt Nakoa.