The following description was submitted by the event organizer.

Tom Russell is a singer-songwriter, painter, novelist, and essayist with 38 records to his credit. As a painter he has been termed “Western Expressionist,” a “Colorist,” and a “Hillbilly Fauvist.” His work is represented in ten world galleries and several major museums, including The El Paso Museum of Art. Russell songs have been recorded by Johnny Cash, The Texas Tornados, k.d. lang, Guy Clark, Joe Ely, The Sir Douglas Quintet, Jason Boland, Nanci Griffith, Katy Moffatt, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Iris Dement, Dave Alvin, Suzy Bogguss, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Iain Glenn, and a hundred others.. He has published a book of songwriting quotes (co-edited with Sylvia Tyson), a detective novel (in Scandinavia), and a book of letters with Charles Bukowski. His recent works include two books from Bangtail Press: 120 Songs of Tom Russell, and Blue Horse/Red Desert – The Art of Tom Russell, a book of selected paintings.