Concert Schedule

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.
He instinctively knew that his listeners were interested in both the old and the new, and set out to create a musical forum like the Club 47 of the early sixties to allow artists and newcomers to share the same stage. In 1982, he tried it out at Symphony Hall. The show was such a hit it became an annual event, growing to fill two, then three nights, and the Club 47 series was born. Crafting concerts that combined well known artists such as Bonnie Raitt or Emmylou Harris with (then) unknowns like Alison Krauss or Mark O’ Connor, Rush took the show on the road. From the ’80s to the present day, Club 47 events have filled the nation’s finest halls to rave reviews, and have been broadcast as national specials on PBS and NPR.
In 1999, Columbia/Legacy released a Tom Rush retrospective album that covers his recorded musical history from 1962 to the present, including tracks recorded for Columbia, Elektra, Prestige and his independent years. Entitled “The Very Best of Tom Rush: No Regrets”, the 17-track compilation includes as a bonus a brand new Tom Rush composition, “River Song,” which features vocal contributions from Grammy winners Shawn Colvin and Marc Cohn.
A live CD, “Trolling for Owls” released in 2003 and published by Tom’s NIGHTLIGHT RECORDINGS, captures Tom’s complete performance and includes, for the first time, some of the spoken stories that have endeared him to audiences.
“How I Play (some of) My Favorite Songs”, a DVD released in 2005 by Homespun Tapes. It shows how he plays ten of the memorable songs and guitar arrangements that have long made him one of America’s most beloved performers.
In 2009, Tom recorded his first studio CD in 35 years. Recorded in Nashville, “What I Know” was produced by Tom’s long-time friend Jim Rooney and includes original Tom Rush material, as well as harmonies by Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Bramlett and Nanci Griffith.
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 

With a perspective equally influenced by her Texas roots and her Cape Cod home, Americana singer-songwriter Monica Rizzio has emerged as one of the finest talents in the East Coast music scene. Monica released her debut album, aptly named Washashore Cowgirl, in 2016; where it was Monica’s solo introduction after a decade in the trio Tripping Lily, Sunshine is Free is her expansion -- after time spent on the road, she realized it was time for her to start collaborating again and recorded the album in Nashville with producer Michael Rinne and a stacked lineup of guest musicians. Throughout the eleven tracks on Sunshine Is Free, Monica appreciates the little things in life and looks for silver linings where necessary. It’s clear she has a keen ability to connect; her songs are often autobiographical but delivered through a fictional approach that aids in creating a universal experience for the listener -- whether it’s expressed using her trademark sense of humor or with such striking honesty that the pain in her voice is tangible.
BIO (long version)
A bonfire on a beach. A couple of days with the one you love. Simply doing...nothing. The little joys in life. Americana singer-songwriter Monica Rizzio’s new album, Sunshine Is Free, is all about the simple things that make it all worth it. The concept for Sunshine Is Free was born on the road, as Rizzio spent time under open skies while touring. Realizing she needed to step outside of a New England winter to write the follow-up to 2016’s Washashore Cowgirl, Rizzio spent the fall of 2018 traveling from her home in Cape Cod to Nashville for writing sessions. Over a week in April at Skinny Elephant Recording, she and producer Michael Rinne (Caroline Spence, Erin Rae & The Meanwhiles, Kelsey Waldon) as well as a stacked lineup of guest musicians including Mindy Smith, Maya de Vitry, Gwen Sebastian, Joe Pisapia, Will Kimbrough, and Eamon McLoughlin, Rizzio created a collection that focuses on finding joy in simpler things and looking for the silver lining of difficult situations.  
Title track “Sunshine Is Free” is an upbeat number, expanded by an infectious bass line and a rollicking banjo. The Boot says the song is “a reminder of the beautiful, happiness-inducing parts of life, from the free to the pricey, the minuscule to the massive.” “Nothin’” romanticizes a perfect day without a to-do list, spent reading Hemingway and sipping on a glass of wine. Billboard noted the track’s "delicate acoustic guitar, steady percussion, soaring electric guitar parts and warm vocals.” The upbeat rocker “Story of My New Year” showcases Rizzio’s versatility as a singer and declares that as a new year rolls in, the future is boundless. Wide Open Country shined an early spotlight on “My Sweet Heart,” a love song advising a younger self whose heart is aching. 
Rizzio collaborated with longtime friend Mindy Smith for the first time on “While With You,” with PopMatters noting that the "love song [sinks] into its soothing groove early, with beautiful mandolin-driven instrumentation filling the spaces between the layered serenity of Rizzio and Smith's vocal performance." Featuring a Jerry Garcia-esque electric guitar, “The Shire” perfectly captures the ethos of The Berkshires in Western Massachusetts, where it was written.  Growing up in a small town in East Texas, Rizzio did what many people do in such settings: she learned to sing gospel hymns in church and received an education in classic country music, listening to Willie Nelson, Buck Owens, Connie Francis and Dolly Parton. “Don’t Keep Me Up Waiting” is a waltz inspired by years of endlessly spinning Willie Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger album, premiered by The Bluegrass Situation.    “Little Bit of Truth” centers around an eye-opening 30 days during Washashore Cowgirl’s album release tour, which found her reconciling evangelical childhood lessons with her current beliefs. On “Sunday” she examines the intricacies of a relationship gone wrong -- the track focuses on her faith and how that’s changed since she was a child. 
Throughout Sunshine Is Free, it’s clear Rizzio has a keen ability to connect; her songs are often autobiographical, yet delivered through a fictional approach that creates a universal experience for the listener -- whether expressed using her trademark sense of humor or with such striking honesty that the pain in her voice is tangible.
“Left with no choice to go my own way, out here looking for a little bit of truth,” she sings, and you can bet she’ll be happy to share the lessons she’s learned soon.

Jack Tempchin is a legendary hit songwriter, whose compositions "Peaceful Easy Feeling" and "Already Gone" are synonymous with the Southern California Sound. These songs can be found on the Eagles' compilation Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975, which the RIAA named the Best-Selling U.S. Album of the 20th Century. 

Jack Tempchin songs have been performed or recorded by several artists, including George Jones, Buck Owens, Emmylou Harris, Glen Campbell, Jackson Browne, Dwight Yoakam, Linda Ronstadt, Patty Loveless, Trisha Yearwood, Tanya Tucker, Richie Havens, Sammy Kershaw, Kate Wolf, Tom Rush and more.

Famously, Tempchin’s tune “Peaceful Easy Feeling” was featured in a notorious taxi scene in the Coen Brothers cult classic The Big Lebowski where Jeff Bridges’ character is unceremoniously tossed from a cab. “Part Of Me, Part Of You,” another Tempchin/Frey classic, was the end-title theme song for the Oscar-award winning film Thelma & Louise. In 2015, a Tempchin/Frey co-write was featured in David O. Russell’s Joy starring Jennifer Lawrence. In 2014, Jack’s lyrical manuscripts for “Peaceful Easy Feeling” and “Already Gone” as well as his original Stella guitar were on view at The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, CA. Prior to that, his lyrics were featured at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.
In 2019, Jack was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York City. The city of San Diego declared December 1st 2012 to be "Peaceful Easy Feeling Day" to honor Jack and the 40th anniversary of the song.