It’s rare to meet the composer of a single cowboy folk opera. Tom Russell? He’s released three so far.
Russell was born in Los Angeles, lived in Spain, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Norway and Queens, began his music career in Vancouver and now lives in El Paso. Although informed by his time in all of these places, Russell’s music is most obviously inspired by the wide open plains of the American Southwest. In a successful career spanning almost forty years, he’s released over thirty albums, all of which blend country, folk, bluegrass to tell the stories of real and fictional Western heroes.
Russell’s most recent two-part album The Rose of Roscrae, released earlier this year, tells the tale of an Irishman who makes the journey to America to become a cowboy.
You can catch Tom Russell perform live tonight, May 15th at the Cactus Cafe, or stream his songs recorded in Studio 1A here at KUTX!
-Erika Hoelscher
