Tom Russell March 3, 2008

Tix: $20

Tom Russell came originally from Los Angeles and now lives in El Paso. He sketched both cities through the eyes of Orson Welles's movie camera in the songwriting masterpiece "Touch of Evil," but he's written about many other subjects besides. Tom's versatility is showcased on his "Wounded Heart of America" release, which compiles some of the great covers of his songs from down through the years. The title comes from poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who says, "I feel a great affinity with Tom Russell's songs, for he's writing out of the wounded heart of America." The artists include Johnny Cash, Joe Ely, Iris DeMent, Dave Van Ronk, Laurie Lewis, Suzy Bogguss, Barrence Whitfield, and Russell himself--enough to convince you that Tom Russell can do just about anything with a pen and a guitar. He writes big Nashville hits, vivid historical songs, ambitious portraits of love gone wrong, exquisite slices of barroom gloom, great anthems of social commentary ("Who's Gonna Build Your Wall?")--you name it! If you already know about Tom Russell, you're already here--but if not, this is a good time to catch him in a retrospective mood.

Official Website: http://theark.org/1526.html