The Peterborough Folk Music Society will present singer/songwriter Tom Rush at The Park Theatre in Jaffrey on Saturday night, March 22.
Rush will be accompanied by Seth Glier, and the show starts at 7 p.m.
Rush, a New Hampshire native, has been a legend in folk music since the 1960s. He is credited with helping launch the careers of Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne and James Taylor, as well as Sean Colvin and Nancy Griffith. Rush’s own career includes over a dozen original albums, sold-out shows at the Boston Symphony Orchestra and chart-topping songs including “No Regrets.”
Rush calls his new album, “Old Garden, New Flowers,” which came out in March 2024, his “best one ever.”
“Of everything I have done, I think this is the one that I like the most,” Rush said. “It’s gotten rave reviews since it came out and has significant chart action as well, so we’re pretty happy with it.”
The album, which was released on LP an CD on April 1, 2024, includes songs both old and new.
“I would have released it on 8-track cassette, but then I would have had to provide an old pickup truck to go with each tape,” Rush said.
Rush said his favorite song on the new album may be “Sailing,” which has been a hit on Sirius XM’s “Margaritaville” channel. He said the album is named for the process of childhood, and how children are the “new flowers” in an old world.
Rush produced the album with longtime accompanist, collaborator and producer Matt Nakoa. Rush calls Nakoa “a brilliant musician and brilliant producer.”
“I think Matt got tired of me talking about ‘maybe someday we’ll make an album,’” Rush said. ‘So he went out and hired fabulous players and got it all going and the next thing I know, I’m sitting in a barn in Connecticut recording songs.”
When they started planning the album, Rush ran a few of his older songs by Nakoa, not expecting him to be interested.
“Some of the songs on the album are quite recent, but there was one I had never trotted out before. I wrote it for my daughter when she was a baby, and I never thought anyone outside the family would be interested, but Matt said, ‘Hey, that’s a good one!’, so it’s on there,” Rush said.
Another song, “Glory Road,” had only been recorded once, during a radio interview in Philadelphia in 1971. Rush played the recording for Nakoa, who loved it.
“It’s about a kid who takes off on his own when he is just 14 years old, and about looking back and what that looks like when he’s 40,” Rush said.
Rush is still committed to helping new artists come up in the business. His Sunday morning podcast, “Rockport Sundays,” features old friends from the business as well as new artists. “Rockport Sundays” is available by subscription on Rush’s website, patreon.com/TomRush.
“I had it easy compared to the kids coming up now. Back when I started, if you got a record label, the record label promoted you and paid for the tour and took care of the publicity,” Rush said. “Today, they don’t do any of that.”
Rush said digital music has changed the game for artists, and particularly for songwriters.
“I think the Spotify model pays you about 20 cents if your song is played 1,000 times,” Rush said. “Spotify says the exposure helps artists sell tickets, but it doesn’t work for songwriters, because they don’t perform.”
Rush said it is much harder for new artists to get noticed due to the volume and accessibility of music available.
“It’s very hard to get anyone’s attention on anything for more than 30 seconds now,” Rush said.
The last song on the new album is titled “I Quit,” but Rush says it does not mean he is going to quit performing or writing.
“This is my 65th farewell tour,” Rush said. “I’m approaching the halfway point of my career now, and I’m looking forward to what happens next.”
Tickets to Tom Rush at The Park Theatre are available at pfmsconcerts.org/concert/evening-tom-rush-accompanied-seth-glier-032225.