BULLHEAD CITY – He may have gotten involved later in the music game, but Rusty Jackson has done well in the art and Bullhead City is about to enjoy his work this week.
A native of Spokane, Washington, Jackson has decided to make Bullhead City his home during the winter and spring months and while doing so, he will present his musical act 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Bullhead Belle, 1251 Hwy. 95.
“My specialty is classic Americana,” Jackson said. “I do a couple of different shows. I do like a highwayman tribute show, or I do Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson and (others). Every year in Spokane, I play at Hagfest which is a tribute to Merle Haggard.
Jackson will stay in Bullhead City until April and he has already committed to returning here next year.
Jackson was influenced by the Beatles when he was a little kid and they played on the Ed Sullivan Show.
“I realized that playing the guitar and singing would make girls scream,” he said. “That was a big, big factor. That same year, my dad was the country influence – and he took us to a movie about Hank Williams and I was 8-years old. What I got from the movie was that there was a job called songwriting and singing. I thought, ‘I want to do that.’
“When I was 19, I got in a band when I was growing up around Southern California. It was a lot of fun, but I got married and thought I had to get a real job.”
Jackson played in church for the next 20 years or so and when his kids got old enough to leave the house, he began toiling with bringing back his live performances.
“Now I play about 150 dates a year up in the northwest. I am doing my first show in Bullhead City.”
He noted the tougher winters up in Washington and so he made his first trip here this winter.
“I can’t help but compare bullhead to Idaho and the funny part about it is they’re both situated on Highway 95,” he said. “There are a lot of similarities. It’s a smaller town, and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is actually just about 20 minutes from Spokane. Everybody up there thinks the people in Idaho are a bunch of hillbillies. The people in Idaho think those people in Spokane are a bunch of crazy liberals that go to Idaho to buy cigarettes and gas because the taxes are so much higher (in Washington).
“There’s almost the same thing going on here with Bullhead and Laughlin – regular working man living over here in Bullhead, and then there’s the big-time gamblers and everything over in Laughlin. I love it here and the people I’ve met are all great.”
Jackson hopes to put on a good show. His music caters to boomers and his covers stay within range of songs they would click with.
“I try to impersonate most of the artists and the one that I do best is probably Johnny Cash,” Jackson said. “I do James Taylor also.”
Jackson also has original material – about two dozen songs are currently available on Spotify. The range is full of variety but most of his catalogues are influenced by country, folk and blues.
“I’ve never had any big hits or anything and I am still actively pursuing it,” he said. “I’m connected with this place in Nashville where I get a chance to try and write songs for other artists sometimes.
“Every once in a while, I write a funny song (Can I Dance With You recently posted on Spotify). When I put on these shows, I use dead people to sell my tickets. Because it’s the fame of Elvis and Johnny Cash and all those people that actually gets butts in the seats.”
Alan Dale
