Tom Russell, one of America's premier singer-songwriters, grew up in California, soaking up the West Coast hillbilly sounds of Merle Travis and Buck Owens. He started his career in the country bars of Vancouver before moving over to the progressive country music scene of Austin, Texas. One of the seminal artists of the americana movement, Tom blends country, rock, Tex-Mex, and folk sounds in finely honed character studies that champion blue collar life. He has written and recorded numerous classics, and created inspired albums, like his Merle Haggard tribute Tulare Dust, which consistently finds a spot on music writers' Best Albums lists.

Last year, Tom released a DVD, Hearts on the Line, as well as a CD, Raw Vision (Philo), that covers some of his best work with the Tom Russell Band in the decade between 1984 and 1994, including the ever-popular "Gallo de Cielo." Longtime musical cohort, Andrew Hardin, provides this evening's guitar and vocal accompaniment.

Tom's most recent release of new material, Hotwalker, is part two of an Americana trilogy that began with his groundbreaking, The Man From God Knows Where. Utilizing the recorded rants of circus midget Little Jack Horton as well as the voices of Lenny Bruce, Charles Bukowski, Jack Kerouac, Edward Abbey, Harry Partch, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Dave Van Ronk, and others, Russell fashions a musical collage that speaks of an American culture gone dead, as he summons up the music that influenced his childhood and carries the listener toward an edgy, Beat montage on America. As William Carlos Williams said of Allen Ginsberg‚ "Hold back the edges of your gowns, Ladies, we are going through hell." Tom's next project Love and Fear, is scheduled for release on Valentine‚ one week before tonight's show at the Freight.