Sunday, July 23, 2000
Some things are just too good to pass up.  Tom Russell and Andrew Hardin on the deck has to be at the top of that list.  Tom Russell is more than a songwriter.  Each song tells a story rich with imagery, thought, and vision, simply but skillfully crafted with the beauty of a lonesome sunset over the Texas desert.  Like the stranger seen riding in from the wilderness, The Man From God Knows Where, Tom Russell comes with tales of life beyond our horizon and paints them as vividly as our own.  Andrew Hardin is a master of the acoustic guitar filling each song with body and texture.  Tom and Andrew together deliver a performance as vivid as the desert in bloom.

Between 1988 and 1995, Tom Russell co-produced a dozen critically acclaimed records, including two each for Sylvia Tyson and Katy Moffatt, two highly praised collaborations with soul singer Barrence Whitfield, and the number-one charted Americana record in 1995, Tulare Dust: A Songwriters Tribute to Merle Haggard, co-produced with Dave Alvin.  Russell has recorded an acoustic collection of cowboy songs, Cowboy Real, which features two duets with Ian Tyson, “Gallo del Cielo” and the 1987 CMA single of the year, “Navajo Rug,” co-written with Tyson.  “Outbound Plane” won Tom Russell a 1993 ASCAP Country Award as one of the most performed radio songs of 1993 when Suzy Bogguss’ recording became a top-ten hit.  Cowboy Mambo was nominated for a Naird award as best independent R&B record of 1994.  In addition, Cowboy Mambo, Hillbilly Voodoo, and Russell’s solo record, Box of Visions, all made dozens of year-end best record lists for 1993 and 1994 including Billboard, CD Review, the College Music Journal, and the Austin Chronicle.  His most recent project, The Man From God Knows Where, continues the tradition of excellence as Tom chronicles his own bloodline in ballad form.  Tom Russell’s songs have been recorded by other artists such as Johnny Cash, Joe Ely, Suzy Bogguss, Jerry Jeff Walker, Nanci Griffith, Dave Alvin, Ian Tyson, Sylvia Tyson, Janie Fricke, Katy Moffatt, Peter Case, the late Doug Sahm, Barrence Whitfield, and more.

It is a rare opportunity for a house concert series to host Tom Russell, and indeed an honor for him to agree to put a show on for us.  With the addition of Andrew Hardin’s guitar stylings, this promises to be a show to write home about.  Please join us as we welcome them to the TNHC stage and help us make this a special experience that they will want to come back and do again.

For the love of the song
Barney & Beverly

Visit Tom Russell online
http://tomrussell.com/