With a career stretching back nearly four decades, and a catalog of more than 20 albums, Tom Russell is already considered one of the great singer/songwriters of our time. But his newest album, Blood and Candle Smoke, recorded in Tucson with members of the indie-rock band Calexico, takes his work to another level entirely with tremendous songwriting and a new, contemporary spark. The consummate storyteller, Russell has amassed a devoted following that cherishes his vivid, novelistic tales evoking the spirit of the American experience in tightly constructed, panoramic vignettes. Among his most ardent fans are fellow artists Johnny Cash, Doug Sahm, k.d. lang, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Iris Dement, Dave Alvin, Joe Ely, Ian Tyson, Nanci Griffith, and Guy Clark have all recorded Tom's songs. Produced by Tom Russell and Craig Schumacher (Neko Case, Iron & Wine, Calexico).