After 63 years in the music business, folk icon Tom Rush isn’t ready to quit.
He’ll be playing new songs from an upcoming album at Cary Hall in Lexington on Saturday Oct. 21.
“I’m thinking of actually calling next year my 63rd annual farewell tour,” he joked on Boston Public Radio Thursday.
Now 82 years old, Rush began his music career at Club 47 in Harvard Square — the same space that now houses the storied folk venue Club Passim.
“Club 47 was a block from my dorm ... and it was just irresistible because they brought in the legends,” Rush said.
Legends like the Carter Family, Bill Monroe, and Flatt and Scruggs.
“The thing that was really stunning to me was that they were very approachable,” Rush said. There, he integrated into the folk scene. Club 47’s lasting impact led to Rush taking the name, long after the club had closed.
“Now the Club 47 is me,” he said. Rush performs shows as part of his Club 47 concert series at Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He’ll be bringing the same atmosphere to Lexington this weekend.
“I always try to have a couple of established artists and a couple of brilliant newcomers that you've never heard of,” Rush said.
On Boston Public Radio, Rush performed “Urge for Going”, written by Joni Mitchell, and “I Quit,” which he wrote 50 years ago.
Click the ‘LISTEN’ button at the top of this article to hear his performances.
