Tom Russell

Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 day of show (plus applicable service charges).

Tom will be on KUNM's Afternoon Freeform with DJ Harry Norton on Friday, November 25 at 3:00.

Tickets are going fast!  Less then 10 left, though we'll probably be able to free up a few more at the door.

Born in Los Angeles in 1950, Tom Russell [web site | Amazon.com] has spent the majority of his life creating music in one genre or another. Having been steeped in Tex-Mex and cowboy music of the southwest, he is best known as a folk and country singer with a personal storytelling approach to his songwriting. Russell's past is checkered with interesting events that defy his country music roots, including his receiving a degree in criminology, teaching school in Nigeria, and playing music for a Puerto Rican circus.

Criminals and circuses aside, Russell has penned a number of well-received albums. As a taxi driver in Queens, Russell met guitarist Andrew Hardin, and the two soon formed a band. Russell and Hardin became the regular opening act for Robert Hunter of the Grateful Dead, and spent the 1980s releasing four albums under the Tom Russell Band moniker. In the 90s, he put out a series of solo albums; however, it was his 1999 "folk opera," The Man from God Knows Where, that brought his name to the masses and granted him critical acclaim. Centering on the stories of his ancestors from Norway and Ireland, the recording pulls from traditional music of those regions and blends them with American folk sensibilities. 2005's Hotwalker continued his preoccupation with conceptual albums, focusing on his correspondence with author Charles Bukowski and nostalgia surrounding the Beat generation. His latest album, 2009's Blood and Candle Smoke, was called "his most musically ambitious, lyrically sophisticated album" by All Music Guide: "He's become a novelist in song... While he tell stories that are unlikely and sometimes larger than life, they are, without question, truths worth investigating, chuckling at, and meditating upon. Blood and Candle Smoke is the perfect vehicle to introduce him anew to those who never knew he existed. After nearly 40 years in the business, who thought this even possible?"

Russell's songs have been recorded by a number of other prominent musicians including Johnny Cash, Guy Clark, Dave Alvin, K.D. Lang, and Suzy Bogguss. Bogguss' rendition of "Outbound Plane" became a Top 10 hit on the country charts. In addition to working on his musical career, Russell also exhibits original artwork and organizes an annual "music train" that crosses Canadian territory.

The evening will start with a live interview by John and Viv from Art of the Song Creativity Radio, followed by a full concert performance.