Gang,
I hope you all survived Thanksgiving (and avoided talking politics with Uncle Stan), and Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday. It’s been a busy week! But now you can relax because all your holiday preparations are done, right? Right? Well, OK, neither are mine. 
A couple of helpful hints: TomRush.com; is always a great place to look for smaller gifts (the new album, Voices, in particular).
AND, for a larger gift for that guitar player on your list, Mackenzie & Marr is having a spectacular sale on the (https://www.macmarr.com/store/tom-rush-naked-lady) guitar right now — 40% off. I may have to buy a couple myself!.
Also, if you’re still feeling charitable after Giving Tuesday, there are so many good causes these days, because there’s so much need! A couple of my favorites are Heifer International, based on the premise that animals — a cow, a goat, chickens, rabbits — can make a critical difference in a struggling family’s life. And APOPO, which trains Gambian Pouched Rats to locate derelict landmines in old war zones. You can have a rat named after whomever you like. (We gave one to Jim Braude at WGBH Radio — there is now a pouched rat named Jim Braude doing lifesaving work out there!)
Shows:
I’m girding my loins for the last shows of the year, a bit of a Marathon — seven concerts in ten days. I can handle it; after all, I’m young and strong. The fabulous Matt Nakoa will be along on all of these, playing breathtaking keyboards, singing soaring harmonies — and helping with the driving. Here we go:
- Saturday, December 1st, Norfolk, CT, Infinity Music Hall
- Tuesday, December 4th, Portland, ME, One Longfellow Square
- Wednesday, December 5th, Cotuit, MA, Center for the Arts, SOLD OUT, see below for add-on show
- Thursday, December 6th, Old Saybrook, CT, “the Kate” (Katherine Hepburn Center for the Arts)
- Friday, December 7th, Beacon, NY at the Towne Crier
- Saturday, December 8th, Shirley, MA, the Bull Run
- And, lastly but not leastly, Monday, December 10th, back to Cotuit, MA, Center for the Arts, because the first show sold out so quickly.
Feel free to forward this to anyone you think might like to attend one of these shows — a good time guaranteed!
If I don’t get back to you before the end of the year I want to thank you very sincerely for your support and stamina. You make it possible for me to do what I love to do — make music for you! And many, many thanks to Team Tom —Andrea, Katy, Marilyn and all the crew at Skyline Music; Rob Stegman who keeps the webstore neat and tidy; my boy, Ben Rush, who designed and runs the esthetically-delightful yet highly-functional TomRush.com website; Ryan Schmidt who pitches in to help with assorted web projects; and, of course, my family, who tolerate all this foolishness!
All the best,
Quote of the month:
“I once wanted to become an atheist, but I gave up – they have no holidays.” –– Henny Youngman