(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.) – Legendary singer-songwriter Tom Rush will perform at two-night stand at the Guthrie Center on Friday and Saturday, June 26-27, 2015, at 8pm both nights. Rush has been called one of New England’s favorite musical sons, “the consummate contemporary folk musician,” and “the man with the golden ear,” for having early on recorded songs by then-unknown songwriters including Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne and James Taylor.

Born in New Hampshire and now living in Massachusetts, Tom Rush started his career in the mid-1960s as a folk/blues singer and guitarist based in Boston/Cambridge, helping to meld folk and rock with his 1965 album, “Take a Little Walk with Me.”

His next album, 1968’s “The Circle Game,” was singled out by Rolling Stone as the record that ushered in the singer-songwriter era, presenting songs by Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne and James Taylor before they had released any albums themselves. Taylor has called him “not only one of my early heroes, but also one of my main influences.” That album also featured what has become Rush’s best known original song, “No Regrets,” subsequently a cover version hit in the country (by Emmylou Harris), pop, and rock charts; U2 has performed the song on stage.

Rush has subsequently helped bring then-unknown talents like Shawn Colvin, Alison Krauss, and Nanci Griffith into the public eye and ear through his “Club 47 Concerts,” named after a legendary Boston folk club. Although revered for his knack of uncovering excellent if little-known songs and songwriters, Rush’s own originals are always a treat, and he’ll debuting some of his newly written songs at his upcoming Great Barrington dates.

Steadily touring for five decades, in 2009 Rush released his first studio album in 35 years, “What I Know: (Appleseed), declared the Album of the Year by the Folk Alliance International of industry professionals and musicians.

His latest release, 2013’s “Celebrates 50 Years of Music” CD/DVD (Appleseed), is a document of a December 2012 concert that Rush organized to mark his half century as a professional musician, performing songs from his repertoire of well-chosen cover songs and back catalog of sterling originals and hosting and special guests at the concert, including David Bromberg, fellow New England-based troubadours Jonathan Edwards and Buskin & Batteau, and Dom Flemons from the Grammy-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops.

Reviewing the new CD, the All Music Guide wrote, “Rush makes each song seem as dependable and solid as the earth itself, somehow mixing a wistful weariness in his voice with an underlying and unerring joyfulness, the same sort of thing he’s been doing for half a century now. That he’s still doing it as well as he ever has is a testament to his talent and character.” His relaxed, expressive baritone, accomplished guitar-playing, wonderfully funny onstage banter and infallible taste in writing and choosing material have made him a perennial favorite among folk-oriented music lovers.

Rush is no stranger to newer generations of music fans. A live YouTube clip of Rush performing the hilarious “Remember Song” has drawn more than six million hits in the past few years, so he’s reaching a wider audience than ever.

A documentary, “Tom Rush: No Regrets,” was chosen the New Hampshire Documentary Film of the Year at the New Hampshire Film Festival in 2013, is making the rounds of the country’s film festivals, and has been released as a DVD.