{"id":36553,"date":"2025-03-06T09:06:56","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T14:06:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=36553"},"modified":"2025-03-06T09:06:56","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T14:06:56","slug":"on-stage-the-legendary-tom-rush-returns-to-chester-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=36553","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: The legendary Tom Rush returns to Chester County"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\"\"

Tom Rush<\/p><\/div>\n

Tom Rush, one of America\u2019s most revered folksingers, is a New Englander through and through. However, in recent years, he has built a connection with Chester County.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
One of his last live shows prior to the COVID pandemic was a concert at Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center in West Chester. Rush returned to the area in March 2023 for a show at the Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Now, the veteran troubadour is coming back to Chester County again \u2013 back to the Colonial Theatre (227 Bridge Street, Phoenixville, thecolonialtheatre.com<\/a>).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
On March 11, Rush will be performing in\u00a0Phoenixville at the Colonial Theatre. This show is the Second Annual Gene Shay\/Founders\u2019 Awards Benefit Concert.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
At the event, which is sponsored by the Philadelphia Folksong Society, David Bromberg and Rush will be receiving Founders Awards for their lifetime music achievements.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cThey called me and asked if I\u2019d like to be involved with a tribute to David Bromberg,\u201d said\u00a0Rush, during a phone interview Tuesday afternoon from his home in southern Maine.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cI immediately said \u2013 yes. Then, they told me that David had asked for me.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cThere will also be a fundraising auction. I\u2019m offering a silk-screened poster of David and me from 2012.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cThe show will have three acts with Jay and Molly opening followed by Larry and Teresa. Then, I go on. I have a 25-minute set from 9:05-9:30 p.m.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The Philadelphia Folksong Society posted the following on its website:<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cPhiladelphia Folksong Society presents the Second Annual Gene Shay\/Founders\u2019 Awards Benefit Concert.\u00a0We will be honoring David Bromberg, \u201cthe Godfather of Americana,\u201d along with Folk Legend Tom Rush!\u00a0It is happening on the evening of\u00a0Tuesday, March 11, 2025\u00a0at The Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge Street in Phoenixville.\u00a0Tickets on sale now!<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The musical acts for the evening include\u00a0Jay Ungar & Molly Mason\u00a0(perhaps best known for\u00a0\u201cAshokan Farewell\u201d\u00a0from Ken Burns\u2019\u00a0\u201cCivil War\u201d\u00a0series), the wonderful\u00a0Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams, and yes,\u00a0Tom Rush!\u00a0In lieu of a performance by David Bromberg, the night will feature a musical tribute to his iconic catalogue.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
In addition to presenting our two\u00a0Founders\u2019 Awards\u00a0to David Bromberg & Tom Rush for their lifetime musical achievements, the Society will present our\u00a0Gene Shay Awards\u00a0to two Folk Festival volunteers,\u00a0Mike Flagg\u00a0and the late\u00a0Ellen Superfine, the Folk Festival\u2019s Wonder Woman,\u00a0for their long and dedicated service.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
As a singer\/songwriter\/musician, Rush is a pro but, as a recording artist, he is not prolific.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Rush releases an album just slightly more frequently than blue supermoons appear in the Northern hemisphere skies.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
His last three albums \u2013 \u201cWhat I Know\u201d in 2009, \u201cCelebrates 50 Years of Music\u201d in 2013, \u201cVoices\u201d in 2018 and \u201cGardens Old, Flowers New,\u201d in 2024 — were all released via West Chester-based Appleseed Records.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Add in two albums released in 2001 and 2006, and you have all his recorded output (six albums) since 1981.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been doing great,\u201d said Rush, who turned 84 in February. \u201cI\u2019ve been juggling rattlesnakes \u2013 that is, I\u2019ve been very busy.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Rush has been on the road a lot \u2013 touring in support of \u201cGardens Old, Flowers New.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The album has a link to April Fool\u2019s Day.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cWe recorded it in March 20-23 \u2013 from March 28 to April 3. Then, it was released on April Fool\u2019s Day last year. I was happy with that project.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The album was recorded in New England but not at Rush\u2019s house in Maine.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cI have a studio at home but it\u2019s more camera gear for my Rockport Sundays podcasts,\u201d said Rush.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cMy producer Matt Nakoa found a very nice studio in Connecticut \u2013 Carriage House Studio \u2013 and we were there in spring 2023. We did 13 tracks and some instrumentals.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cOne is a brand-new track that is 53 years old that was never released. It was taken from a radio show I did in Philly with Gene Shay. I played it for Matt, and he said we\u2019ve got to record this one.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cAnother song was one I wrote for my baby daughter and she\u2019s now 25 years old. And there are some brand-new ones. The last song was titled, \u201cI Quit\u201d \u2013 but I\u2019m not quitting.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cThe songs are all originals. \u2018Voices\u2019 had two traditional songs. This one has \u2018Gimme Some of It,\u2019 which I heard somewhere. It sounds like a traditional jug band song, but I don\u2019t know where it came from.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cWe spent five days in the studio. The first take on each was just a practice and the second was for real. We got a lot on the second take and never did more than three takes.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cThe album has a lot of songs that I felt good about including three songs that are different \u2013 takes on a breakup. As usual, I\u2019m just all over the place \u2013 silly songs and songs that will make you cry.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not quite sure why I\u2019m making an album. With Spotify, the royalty I make for 1,000 listens is one cent. The good news for me is that I\u2019ve always made my living on stage.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
What was the catalyst for making a new album after a five-year gap?<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cMatt got tired of me saying someday I\u2019ll make a new album,\u201d said Rush. \u201cHe got tired of waiting, so he booked the studio and lined up musicians including Seth Glier on accordion and harmonium and Joe Nearney on sax and harmonica.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Rush has worked with Nakoa in the past and is using him as his sideman for the current shows.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been working for nine years with Matt,\u201d said Rush. \u201cHe steals the show. He plays piano and sings like an angel. He\u2019s also a monster guitar player.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Rush released his first album, \u201cTom Rush at the Unicorn,\u201d in 1962.\u00a0 \u201cVoices\u201d was released in April 2018. Altogether, Rush has put out 26 albums in 60 years \u2013 and just six since the turn of the century.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Fortunately, he is much more active when it comes to live performances.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Rush is a consummate performer who always delivers an entertaining show when he takes the stage to perform his songs and choice songs by other artists.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Over the course of his 50-year-plus career, one of Rush\u2019s defining gifts has been his ear for the faint voices of significant new songs by little-known writers.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The New England-based singer-guitarist was among the very first to record future standards by then-fledgling performers Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Jackson Browne on his 1968 album \u201cThe Circle Game.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Rush brought a later generation of singer-songwriters such as Nanci Griffith and Shawn Colvin to wider audiences as part of his tours. James Taylor and country music superstar Garth Brooks have both named him as a major influence.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Until \u201cVoices,\u201d Rush has been heard only sparingly as a songwriter, with only a few tantalizing handfuls of originals \u2013 about 20 \u2013 spread out over eleven studio albums.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cVoices\u201d was the first album ever of all-Rush originals \u2013 10 relaxed, warmhearted, amused and sometimes thoughtful songs that perfectly reflect his wry persona.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cI always wrote on guitar,\u201d said Rush. \u201cEvery song came differently. A lot of times, it\u2019s a phrase \u2013 just a few words that suggest a melody. Sometimes, it starts with a melody. There is no pattern.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cMy pattern is to write too much. Each song tended to end up too long. You find that out when you take them in front of a live audience.\u201d<\/div>\n
It has been more than a half-century since Rush made people take notice with one particular song \u2014 \u201cUrge for Going,\u201d which was written by Joni Mitchell and recorded by Rush in 1968. It quickly became one of Rush\u2019s signature songs.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cJoni and I were at Club Chessman in Detroit,\u201d said Rush. \u201cShe wanted to do a short set so I could listen to her new songs. The last was \u2018Urge for Going.\u2019 It was special.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
In \u201cJoni Mitchell in Her Own Words,\u201d Mitchell wrote:<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cMy husband Chuck was different. He had an education, a degree in literature. Chuck always said that you couldn’t write unless you read. He considered me illiterate, and he didn’t give me a great deal of encouragement regarding my writing.<\/div>\n
But Tom Rush did.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Tom would say, “Do you have any new songs?” I’d play him a batch and he’d say, “Any more?” I always held the ones out that I felt were too sensitive, or too feminine, and those would always be the ones he chose.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cBecause of Tom, I began to get noticed. I liked playing in small clubs the best, still do. I really like holding the attention of thirty or forty people. I never liked the roar of the big crowd.”<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Usually, it is other artists performing songs that were written by Rush. One of the most popular has been \u201cNo Regrets.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cThe song \u2018No Regrets\u2019 has been recorded by a lot of people,\u201d said Rush. \u201cU2 used the chorus on one of their songs.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cThe Walker Brothers had a huge hit with it in England in 1975. I made enough on the royalties from that to put my two kids through college.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Artists who covered \u201cNo Regrets\u201d range from country music superstar Emmylou Harris to English rocker Midge Ure, who fronted Ultravox, Visage and Thin Lizzy.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The roster of other artists who have performed \u201cNo Regrets\u201d reads like a \u201cWho\u2019s Who of Modern Musicians\u201d \u2013 Harry Belafonte, Waylon Jennings, George Hamilton IV, Lee Hazelwood and Ann-Margret, Olivia Newton-John, Shirley Bassey, Robbie Williams, Luna, and Sam Burton.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the veteran singer-songwriter established a tradition of performing a series of shows over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend at the now-defunct Main Point in Bryn Mawr.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cI always played the Main Point at Thanksgiving,\u201d said Rush. \u201cI probably did that at least six years in a row. The first show would be Thursday night, and it was always a groggy show. People were showing the effects of eating a big Thanksgiving dinner.\u201c<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I did two shows a night on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I enjoyed those days of doing multiple nights — and The Main Point was a great place to play. Jeannette (Main Point owner Jeanette Campbell) was the patron saint of the Philadelphia folk scene.\u201d<\/div>\n
Rush\u00a0stayed active during the pandemic via a project he calls \u201cRockport Sundays.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cI started \u2018Rockport Sundays\u2019 back in February 2020,\u201d said\u00a0Rush. \u201cIt\u2019s a subscription through Patreon. I was living in Rockport and posted a new episode every Sunday at midnight.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
When he was first starting the series, he posted this message on his website \u2013<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cI have something I really want to do, and I\u2019m going to need your help to do it. I\u2019m starting a weekly series of online offerings \u2014 old songs, new songs, stories, pages from a book I\u2019m working on. Since they\u2019ll be coming out of my studio in Rockport, Mass, I thought I\u2019d call the series \u201cRockport Sundays.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The project met with a warm reception.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cBasically, it\u2019s me at my kitchen table doing a song or a story every Sunday,\u201d said\u00a0Rush. \u201cThen, it stays up for eight weeks. It\u2019s been very well received. It\u2019s a way of communicating with my audience.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cI keep it short. If you do an hour, you lose the audience by the end. It\u2019s been fun and very casual. I work with Mark Steele and the video is very professional.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cMy favorite sideman is Matt Nakoa. I just finished three episodes with Jonathan Edwards who sings a couple songs on his own.<\/div>\n
\u201cThe podcast goes back to February 2020. I had just started my \u2018First Annual Farewell Tour\u2019 when everything shut down. I started out doing cell phone videos. I was trying to figure out a way to connect with my audience.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been fortunate to have a lot of really talented guests \u2013 Tom Paxton, Kate Taylor, Liv Taylor, Buskin & Batteau, Chris Smither, Jim Kreskin, Jackson Browne.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Rush and Bromberg have performed together many times over the last four decades and have a long-standing friendship.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cDavid and I have done multiple dozens of shows together,\u201d said Rush. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to seeing David. I haven\u2019t seen him in a while.\u201d<\/div>\n
The show at the Colonial will feature another pair of musical heavyweights \u2013 Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Campbell\u00a0won a Grammy Award for his work with Levon Helm and has\u00a0played with many of the era\u2019s greats including Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Phil Lesh, Emmylou Harris, Sheryl Crow, Keith Richards, Cyndi Lauper, Hot Tuna and Mavis Staples.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
He has also won the Lifetime Achievement Award (2008) and Instrumentalist of the Year Award (2013) from the Americana Music Association.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Williams was a member of Southern Comfort, and later Swing Fever. She created the role of Sara Carter, the lead singer of The Original Carter Family, for the stage and for the BBC and PBS.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
She has performed with Bonnie Bramlett, Buddy Miller, Emmylou Harris, Little Feat and Hot Tuna and has toured as a member of Phil Lesh and Friends.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The event at the Colonial Theatre on March 11 will start at 6 p.m.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Tickets are $50.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Other upcoming shows at the Colonial Theatre are Jon Foreman on March 6, Seven Wonders: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac on March 7 and Alan Doyle on March 8.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Video link for Tom Rush \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/9pxEKfEBOWM<\/a>.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Rush will also be appearing at Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center (226 North High Street, West Chester, www.uptownwestchester.org<\/a>) on April 2.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Other upcoming shows at the Uptown! are Dueling Pianos — The Philly Keys on March 6, On the Lash on March 7, Countdown to Ecstasy on March 8 and Better Than Bacon on March 9.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"\"There will be a Midwest vibe permeating the show on March 9 at the Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, www.ardmoremusic.com<\/a>) Hall with headliner TopHouse (Montana) and opening act The Wildwoods (Nebraska).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
TopHouse was created in 2015 by two Montana music majors, guitarist\/songwriter Jesse Davis and violinist William Cook before adding Joseph Larson (lead singer and guitar\/banjo player,) and Andy LaFave (piano) in 2017 and 2022 respectively.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
After being vaulted to local fame in their birthplace of Missoula, with the Missoulian naming TopHouse one of the top five best new bands (two years in a row we might add), the band moved to Nashville in October of 2019. TopHouse quickly set to work attaining a local residency as well as getting music played on Nashville\u2019s premier new-music radio station Lightning 100. With some viral social media moments, a healthy dose of touring, consistent time in the studio, and a diet of Little Caesars and Red Bull, TopHouse has continued to grow to the point of selling out at venues across America.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The eclectic indie quartet just released a new EP titled\u00a0\u201cPractice.\u201d The EP, which features an impressive mix of rock, folk, pop and Celtic influences, came out on February 14. One day later, the band made its Grand Ole Opry debut.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
In the heart of Lincoln, Nebraska, The Wildwoods emerged as a folk\/Americana trio — a musical tapestry woven by the husband-and-wife duo, Noah (guitar) and Chloe Gose (violin), alongside long-time friend and bassist, Andrew Vaggalis.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Their story is a symphony of exploration and connection, a journey that has taken them from venues in the Midwest to international stages, carving out a unique place in the folk landscape.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
United by a passion for folk\/Americana, the trio\u2019s influences range from Watchhouse and Nickel Creek to Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. Their music, though comfortably under the folk\/Americana umbrella, weaves intricate chord structures and emotional textures that defy genre boundaries.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The show at the Ardmore Music Hall on March 9 will start at 7 p.m.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Tickets are $25.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Other upcoming shows at AMH are Holly Bowling on March 6 and God Street Wine on March 7.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http:\/\/www.kennettflash.org<\/a>) will have Lauren Calve on March 6, Laurie McAllister on March 7 and Beatlemania Again! on March 8. The Dukes of Destiny, a blues band \u00a0that has been around for 40 years and has played Chester County for some 30 of \u00a0those 40 years, are playing Saturday, March 15th at the Kennett Flash<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Jamey\u2019s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, 215-477-9985, www.jameyshouseofmusic.com<\/a>)\u00a0 will present The Philadelphia Blues Society Night featuring special guest\u00a0Tony Holiday on March 6, Johnny and the Mongrels on March 7 and Delta Generators on March 8.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Every Sunday, Jamey\u2019s presents \u201cSUNDAY BLUES BRUNCH & JAM.\u201d \u00a0This week\u2019s show features the Girke-Davis Project.<\/div>\n
Elkton Music Hall (107 North Street,\u00a0Elkton, Maryland, www.elktonmusichall.com<\/a>) will host James McMurtry on March 7, Whiskey Feathers on March 8, Albert Cummings with the Gretchen Emery Band on March 11 and Roots Revival Roadshow on March 12.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Tom Rush, one of America\u2019s most revered folksingers, is a New Englander through and through. However, in recent years, he has built a connection with Chester County. One of his last live shows prior to the COVID pandemic was a concert at Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36551,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5166],"tags":[3912,7672,12887],"class_list":["post-36553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-tom-rush","tag-tophouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36553"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36553\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36554,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36553\/revisions\/36554"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/36551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}