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Veteran singer-songwriter Tom Rush at BrickBox Theater for an ‘annual farewell’

Richard Duckett

Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

Early in 2020, veteran folk/blues musician and singer-songwriter Tom Rush announced his “First Annual Farewell Tour.”

“Emphasis, ‘annual,’” Rush said during a recent telephone interview.

The tour didn’t get very far. Indeed, Rush came up with a T-shirt, the “Farewell Tour, Pandemic Edition,” with all the gigs that didn’t happen crossed out (67 of them), plus the 14 that did happen in bold. (You can buy the T-shirt on www.tomrush.com.)

But despite what he called “a curious couple of years,” Rush is back touring, and will perform at the BrickBox Theater at the JMAC in Worcester at 7:30 p.m. April 23 accompanied by Matt Nakoa.

“I just did three out west,” said Rush, 81, who lives in Southern Maine, about some shows earlier this month in Arizona and California.

“I think I’m on the fifth annual farewell tour at this point.”

In addition to the pandemic shutting down all the venues for the first annual farewell tour, Rush went down with COVID.

“I got the virus early on, mid-March, 2020. I do not recommend it at all. I got off lightly. It was four weeks of feeling crummy,” he said.

During the pandemic he launched an online weekly series “Rockport Sundays.” Rush lived in Rockport until recently and one of his best known songs is “Rockport Sunday.” The series is still ongoing (details at www.tomrush.com).

He’s also had four vaccinations, and slowly started performing live again, first at private outdoor gatherings, then public events outside, and now indoors. He noted that most of the venues he’s played at have restrictions and requirements, including the wearing of masks.

Rush still enjoys performing live and in-person, and his shows have always had the reputation of Rush being amusingly engaging with stories for the audience. “The travel is the hard part ... The couple of hours I get to play on stage, that’s the fun part. They don’t call it ‘play’ for no reason,” he said.

Besides which, “I learned when you tell a joke to a video camera it doesn’t laugh.”

On his tours, whether farewell or otherwise, Rush has been a fairly regular visitor to Central Massachusetts.

In 2018 he gave the inaugural concert to the Grafton Performing Arts Series at Apple Tree Arts’ Great Hall, One Grafton Common, in Grafton. The historic Great Hall had been renovated as an intimate 150-seat venue. He returned there for second concert in 2019.

The BrickBox Theater at the JMAC in Worcester is also still a relatively new performance space, coming into play gradually since 2020 when a big opening was nixed by the pandemic.

“I’m looking forward to it. I hear it’s a fabulous space,” Rush said.

Rush was born in Portsmouth, N.H., and grew up in Concord, N.H. where his father was a teacher at St. Paul’s School. Rush was an English major at Harvard University and while a student he began his musical career in the early 1960s playing the Boston-area clubs including

In Case You Go

What: Tom Rush, accompanied by Matt Nakoa When: 7:30 p.m. April 23 Where: BrickBox Theater at the Jean McDonough Arts Center, 20B Franklin Street, Worcester How much: $50 general admission. www.jmacworcester.org

Rush

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the legendary Club 47, where he had a weekly spot and got to know some great artists and artists who would become great. Rush had released two albums by the time he graduated.

His rich, warm voice added dimensions to folk standards, but in 1966 “Take a Little Walk with Me” he covered tunes by Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, and Bo Diddley, as well as recording an original song for the first time, “On the Road Again.”

His 1968 album “The Circle Game” was Rush’s big breakout. He sang songs by the then still relatively obscure Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne and James Taylor in wonderfully interpretative renditions that helped them gain recognition, as well as playing what would be his own biggest hit, the poignant “No Regrets.”

“I just wanted some great songs to deliver an album and was overdue - two years overdue,” Rush said. “All of a sudden, along came Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, James Taylor.”

Besides folk and blues, Rush has explored country, with covers of songs making up the majority of his albums until ...

“I don’t know why I started writing so much,” Rush said.

“What I Know” was his first studio album in 35 years when it was released in 2009 with five Rush compositions out of the album’s 12 tracks. Then in 2018 his album “Voices” featured 10 original Rush compositions and just two other numbers.

Both albums were recorded with producer Jim Rooney in Nashville.

Rush considers “Voices” to be “my best work so far.” In terms of his own material it constituted “one third of my output of 60 years.”

One review said “he (Rush) has found his own muse, and it’s really beautiful ... the album is just a joyful warm expression of life, it just feels lived-in and it feels like something you can live with –and his voice is still beautiful.”

Rush eschews labels for his music, new or old. “I know folk music no longer means what it means to me. It’s come to mean anyone with a guitar, and I’d rather be a singer-songwriter,” he said.

He recalled that once he was in a record store where his albums were in the folk section. Rush pointed out to the manager that he has also sung blues. The manager put his album in the blues section. Rush then told the manager that he’s recorded country as well. Rush’s albums ended up in the “Miscellaneous” section.

“I learned my lesson not to argue about genres,” he said.

He recently moved from Rockport to Southern Maine, close to Portsmouth, N.H., where he was born.

Rush noted that the hospital where he was born “has been converted to an old age home. I thought ‘Hmmm, there could be some symmetry.’ “

Meanwhile, the songwriting has continued during the pandemic.

“I have no idea where the songs come from, and the odd thing is I have no recollection of writing the songs,” Rush said. “In my experience I do the writing early in the morning before I’m even awake yet.” Then, “after the third cup of coffee the editing kicks in.”

Rush has enough songs for a new album. “I think the next one will come out even better,” he said.

However, a number of recording studios in Nashville have been closed as the city has been a COVID hot spot, he said.

And Rush would like more than just “enough” songs so that he can pick and choose for his new album. “You need a surplus.” He said in his experience a song that seems like it should be a surefire hit can fizzle at various stages, while one that you don’t think can make it does.

Take “No Regrets,” for example.

“The first person I sang it for was Judy Collins, and she was not enthusiastic. I put it aside for a few years.”

“No Regrets” has now been covered by numerous artists. In England, the Walker Brothers version was in the Top Ten, something that Rush has credited with helping him put his children through college.

“Emmylou Harris recorded it and that was the start. I don’t know where Shirley Bassey got it,” Rush said.

The way a song gets around “is kind of a mystery. It takes some luck.”

A few years ago he put up his performance of “The Remember Song” on YouTube just to see if anyone would like it, he said.

“Well like it’s got seven-and-a-half million plays now,” Rush said.

He introduces many of his new songs “from my kitchen table” on the “Rockport Sundays” series.

He’ll also play a few at the BrickBox Theater April 23. But of course, “We’ll do all the old favorites. That’s what people want to hear. Along with three or four new ones no one’s ever heard before.”

Matt Nakoa also accompanied Rush at Apple Tree Arts in Grafton and the two have done a number of concerts together. Nakoa is a graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston, a pianist, guitarist, singer and a songwriter with some acclaimed compositions in his own right.

“He is a monster talent,” Rush said.

Nakoa will get to play some of his original songs at the BrickBox.

“He always steals the show and I pay him to do it and I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” Rush said.

Singer-songwriter Tom Rush announced his “First Annual Farewell Tour” in 2020. “Emphasis on ‘annual,’” he says.

PHOTO COURTESTY TOM WHITE

Wait? The Hotel Vernon serves food now!?!?

Veer Mudambi Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK

“We heard you started selling food here,” a young patron said as he walked into the Hotel Vernon with a friend on April 14. It has only been a week since the historic dive bar began to serve food — something that may not seem newsworthy to an outsider but to Worcesterites, it’s literally the talk of the town. In the wake of local favorites such as Nick’s Bar and Restaurant closing their doors, news that the Vernon has become a gastropub has caused quite a stir, especially when it prides itself on staying the same.

“We’re happy to surprise people,” said owner Bob Largess with a laugh. According to him, the establishment wanted to be different, “the Hotel Vernon is in different waters, and we’ve got a new wind in our sails.” The kitchen, which has not been used in 22 years, has now been resurrected and brought up to code, and is serving Vietnamese fare courtesy of the new chefs. The food itself is not regular pub food but a fusion mix of fried seafood, a variety of sandwiches, stir fried noodle dishes, Pho soups and other Vietnamese cuisine. “It’s a good opportunity for Worcester to reconnect to the Asian community.” Food as diverse as the clientele, I was told. And as diverse as Worcester, to be honest.

That evening the chefs hadn’t arrived yet, so there were no samples of the bar’s new food. “We’re a work in progress, but up and running,” said the Hotel Vernon Facebook page. Following the initial surprise, the news has elicited mixed reactions, including excitement, indifference and mild suspicion.

When asked if they were planning to start eating at the Vernon, long-time patrons Michael and Katie Sullivan, shook their heads with a smile. “We’ll stick with Vincent’s,” said Michael. However, even if they don’t order food here, the bar has been an island of consistency for the Sullivans, who have been patrons for 40 years, in a city in the midst of a sea-change.

Built in 1901, the place has stayed afloat over the course of 122 years, through prohibition, the Great Depression, highway construction, a recession, and most recently COVID. However, the lack of smooth sailing seems to have only contributed to its character — and yes, I’m going all in on the nautical idioms, for reasons obvious to any Worcesterite or really anyone who has set foot in the bar for more than five minutes.

Largess is understanding of the issues that people face after two years of the pandemic. “People don’t go out the way they used to,” he said, and when they do, “there’s an elephant in the room, called cannabis — if you’re in your 20s, and go out on the weekend you’ve already dropped $100 before you get to a bar.”

Like Worcester itself, the Vernon is bigger and more complicated than it first appears. Upon entering, my first thought was that it was almost oppressively small, before seeing the entrance to a pool table room and beyond that, entering, what I was told, was called the Ship Room. A small stage occupies the end of the Ship Room that hosts regular music shows or events. “My parents had their wedding reception here in 1955,” said Sullivan. This backroom entertainment area is meant to look like the inside of an old-style yacht, complete with porthole windows, and wall to wall ship models, hence its name. As a lifelong New Englander, despite having little, if any, desire to sail, nautical imagery will always make me feel at home.

“Every time I come here, I pop in to check on the boats,” said another patron, who introduced himself as Matt, a regular who may not have as many years under his belt as the Sullivans but seems just as enamored. “I’m 27, and I’ve been coming here since I was 21,” he said. Despite its long running history, I was told that the place is popular with a younger crowd, and the one dollar draft beers make it easy to see why.

Surprisingly, some of the patrons prefer to keep a respectful distance from the food. Musician and radio host Nick Noble demurred and said, “I prefer to order from Kelley Square Pizza but the beer is still good.” He observed that the Vernon is much less messy now and chalked it up to the lack of peanuts, which he missed. “And open singing in the Ship Room on the fourth Wednesday of every month,” is not to be missed.

Tony Wilson chuckled and stated that he would only eat there, “if you trust they’ve sorted out the rat problem.” On Twitter, three different people cryptically responded to the news saying “holy (expletive)” which could be taken either way.

During Prohibition, the Hotel Vernon was the most popular speakeasy in Worcester. With the façade of an inn, it served as a speakeasy to those who knew about that aspect of the business. Today, the speakeasy in the basement doesn’t look like much, but in its day, it counted Babe Ruth as a frequent patron, and is even credited with mixing the first ever Cape Cod cocktail. To get in, you had to knock on the right door and say, "I’m looking for the yacht club." When asked, "who sent you?" you had to reply "Madame Rhubarb" (a Polish chambermaid.)

There have also been other changes at the Hotel Vernon. It used to be open from 3 pm to 2 am seven days a week, but they have cut back to 3 pm to midnight. Largess reflected how “we used to all go 24/7 and never be able to keep up with ourselves — now we are closed on Mondays, so we can do the stuff we need to do and everybody gets a day off.” He indicated it was a conscious decision to change the hours because, “how people go to bars and hang out at them has changed.” He went on to say that “it’s a challenge to anyone and everyone who has to survive in this business — it has changed and will keep changing.” Reflecting the changing times and the evolving nature of a city whose time has come, even old-timer institutions like the stubbornly traditional Hotel Vernon can adapt.

The Hotel Vernon, during the recent reconstruction of Kelley Square. T&G STAFF/RICK CINCLAIR

‘The Great Gig In The Sky’ celebrates musician Mike Schiavone’s legacy

Robert Duguay

Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

Ever since his passing on February 28, the void that Milford’s Mike Schiavone left behind has been felt all over New England. Through his time as the guitarist in Providence bands Slurp and Delish Music, with the Springfield reggae-punk act Danny Pease & The Regulators, and his time fixing and selling guitars and various types of gear at Empire Guitars in Providence, he was a major fixture in the region’s music community. His talents justified the acclaim he received from his contemporaries and he never had a bad word to say about anyone. Schiavone always had a welcoming personality and when you were in the same room with him you knew you were in the right place. In remembrance and celebration of the life he lived, “The Great Gig In The Sky” will be happening at Electric Haze on 26 Millbury Street in Worcester at 8 p.m. April 22.

Delish Music will be co-presenting the show with Electric Haze’s in-house booker Shepheard Productions, with local funk staples the William Thompson Funk Experiment coming back after a long hiatus. Providence psych-rock trio The Cosmic Factory and North Shore turntablist Icculus will be opening things up.

“We first met Mike around 10 years ago at The Spot Underground in Providence,” William Thompson Funk Experiment co-vocalist & co-guitarist Nick Ramey says about Schiavone. “He was one of a handful of people in the room that night and I remember him distinctly coming up to me after our set and telling me how much he enjoyed it, it’s safe to say we hit it off immediately. Over the years he would attend almost all if not every one of our shows in the area, he became a close friend of all of ours and was one one of the people we looked forward to seeing. He could light up a room with his personality and beyond that was one hell of a guitar player. Most importantly, Mike was just the nicest guy and he gave everything he had to our local music scene.”

“We ran into our mutual friend Lee Canales at Mike’s wake,” he adds. “Lee and Mike played in Delish Music together along with our drummer Derrick and our friend Rory. He asked us if we would be interested in re-uniting to play a benefit show in honor of Mike. It’s been about two and a half years since we have stepped on stage together but I couldn’t think of a more appropriate reason to do so. We know how much we meant to Schiavone as a band and we want to do right by him and rock out for all his friend’s along with our buddies in The Cosmic Factory.”

During the last weekend of Schiavone’s life, he performed a Nirvana tribute show at Dusk on 301 Harris Avenue in Providence. With him on guitar and

Late musician Mike Schiavone’s legacy will be celebrated at “The Great Gig in the Sky.”

PHOTO COURTESY ANTHONY ZALOWSKI The William Thompson Funk Experiment will participate in “The Great Gig in the

Sky” at Electric Haze. PHOTO COURTESY GRATEFUL OWL

Creative Hub Worcester set to host gala at Mercantile Center

Richard Duckett

Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

Creative Hub Worcester will host its Inaugural Gala on April 29 at the Mercantile Center in downtown Worcester.

The gala will include a silent auction, raffles, a buffet dinner and live entertainment.

Creative Hub Worcester is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing affordable and accessible opportunities in the arts for all Worcester area community members, with a focus on youth and communities who may be at-risk or underserved.

The gala evening will begin with a "VIP" cocktail hour at 5 p.m. including a sneak peek at the silent auction, hors d'oeuvres, a meet and greet with the evening's performers, and a special live performance.

Doors open for general admission at 6 p.m. and the gala will feature food from various local food businesses throughout Worcester County, a cash bar provided by Struck Catering, a fashion show from local fashion designer Emmanuel Carboo (WavvzNewage), and performances by Guardians of Traditions (celebrating the traditions of Dominican Carnival), and Flamenco Worcester. Adael Mejia, the City of Worcester’s Youth Poet Laureate, will be performing spoken word poetry during the event. Dancing will be to music provided by DanceAway Sound Productions.

Later in the evening the organization's co-founders, Stacy Lord and Laura Marotta, will unveil the new branding and website for Creative Hub Worcester before it goes live to the public. "For the past six years, Stacy and I have conceptualized and grown Creative Hub into an organization that uses art as a vehicle for healing and social change,” said Laura Marotta in a statement.

The co-founders of Creative Hub Worcester are Worcester art teacher Stacy Lord, left, and Laura Marotta, executive director of the organization.

CHRISTINE PETERSON/T&G STAFF

“The gala is a representation of the deepest roots of our community and celebration of all of our identities. We’re excited for you all to join us for this immersive and joyful evening.”

Tickets are $75 general admission; $100 "VIP." www.eventbrite.com/e/creative-hub-inaugural-galatickets-277721611817

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vocals, The Cosmic Factory’s bassist Mike Baker and drummer Dewey Raposo rounded out the trio. Both Baker and Raposo look back on that final gig with their friend in a grateful light.

“Mike was a true rockstar,” Baker says about Schiavone. “I was always starstruck watching him play with whomever he was performing with at the time over many years. I was lucky enough to perform with him and Dewey for his final gig. He challenged me to learn 40 Nirvana songs and was so encouraging and positive, it was inspiring. I will take that with me till we meet again.”

“I don't remember playing in the Providence music scene without Mike being a part of it,” Raposo adds. “He was an integral part of our community in so many ways whether he was playing with Slurp, fixing your guitar at Empire Guitars or just coming out to shows to support his friends. From Strange Brew in Connecticut to Electric Haze in Worcester and various venues in Providence, it's pretty clear what kind of impact he's had, and continues to have, on our regional scene. I’m super grateful to have been able to play those Nirvana songs with him that last weekend of February.”

All proceeds from the upcoming show will go towards the establishing of a foundation that’s being created in Schiavone’s honor. Whether you knew him or not, it’s a great opportunity to check out some incredible acts in recognition of someone who impacted local music around these parts in an incredibly positive way.