Sheffield, Mass. native Tom Ingersoll is a professional arborist who’s about to release his third album, "Friday," with a concert at The Mahaiwe on Saturday, April 21 at 7 p.m. Or, as he describes it, he’s “a musician with a day job.” His americana/alt-country/folk-rock record was recorded in the Berkshires with local musicians and felt, says Ingersoll, more like a community barn-raising than anything else. I grew up in a household where there was always music. My mom had classical music playing and she took us to concerts. I’m not saying that I absorbed any of that ability, but I certainly grew up with an appreciation. My dad always had a piano in the house and his music was George Gershwin-type stuff. He had a guitar that I still have, and I’d play along to my sister’s Beatles records. I sort of found my own sound in there somewhere. Growing up, our next door neighbor was guitarist Steve Ide and he would invite me to his performances when I was 10 or 12 years old. I still look at him as a big brother; he played on all three of my albums. This album has a little bit of everything — rock and roll, country, silly stuff, emotion — but it still has a very nice cohesion to it. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done and I’m really happy with the way it came out. That’s due in large part to [the album's producer] Robby Baier. I don’t have a set band, but I have a lot of musical friends that I call upon. One of the best things about music to me is the community. This recording has been a collaborative effort; it felt like a barn-raising, where friends and neighbors come together to make things happen. I might have had the songs, but I couldn’t have done it without them. Being a musician with a day job, if I have a project or a gig, I can bring people together when I need to, but I’m not locked into a group. There are so many talented musicians in the Berkshires in all genres, and we support each other, which feels good. All of the guys on the album will be on the stage at the Mahaiwe. We’ll play the album and 4 or 5 older songs, tell some stories and jokes, and send everyone home with a cd or a download code. I’m very fortunate to have a job where I can do my work outside. My dad started this business, Ingersoll Land Care, but he got sick and ended up dying in 1993. I was in the film business in LA at the time, but it meant more to me to be close to home and family, with clear air and woods than in the smoky desert. I’m lucky to be able to prune a tree or plant a flower, and get paid for that. I can’t stand still. I started an amateur baseball team in Great Barrington in 2011, which I still play on and manage. I co-founded the Sheffield Tree Project, which is a community forestry group. We plant trees for free all around Sheffield. As an arborist, I have the tools and trucks to be able to do something in the community. I’m also passionate about education; last Sunday I gave a free pruning class at Ward’s Nursery. I also teach classes at Berkshire Botanical Garden, where I’m a trustee. I’m the board member who shows up at the meeting in muddy boots and a sweatshirt. It’s important to see the rest of the world. A lot of people have ended up here because they found it, but I ended up here because I had the opportunity to travel in other parts of the country, and so I don’t wonder. I don’t understand how anyone could ever get bored around here. Take a walk in the woods and you come out a new person.
