Ellis Paul is one of those gifted singer/songwriters. Though some may refer to him as a folksinger, he is more, for lack of a better word, a singular storyteller, a musician whose words reach out from inside and yet also express the feelings, thoughts and sensibilities that most people can relate to in one way or another, regardless of age or upbringing. The exhilaration of the open road. A celebration of heroes. The hope for redemption. Descriptions of those things that are both near and dear. The sharing of love: intimate, passionate and enduring.
In reality, these stories are a continuation of tales Ellis Paul has told for more than a quarter century, over the expanse of nineteen albums, numerous critical kudos (15 Boston Music Awards alone), inclusion in several movie soundtracks, and stages he’s headlined both near and far. “I’ve got a car with over 475,000 miles on it, and it’s my third road vehicle,” Paul declares. “I’ve been doing 200 shows a year for over twenty years. There isn’t a town in the country where I won’t find a friend. I’m a nomad. And I’m gonna write and play until I’m gone.”
His first destination from his roots in Maine was Boston College, courtesy of a track scholarship. Yet as Paul describes it, his athletic endeavors, combined with his academic responsibilities, served to rob him of his creativity. It was only after he suffered a knee injury which forced him to take a year off that he rebounded with a new form of expression, made possible when his girlfriend’s sister gave him a secondhand guitar. “A mysterious, lustful partnership with the instrument followed,” Paul concedes. “It became a marriage, a friendship, a lifelong bond that only comes when you find that one thing that becomes an extension of yourself. I played for hours, choosing to write my own original songs and sing instead of studying, socializing or exploring what the Boston streets could offer after hours.”
Paul will also be performing a free family show 1PM Friday, August 15 sponsored by Worcester Family Partnership. That show is free for each child accompanied by a maximum of two adults. No advance tickets are needed and the offer is limited to the first 325 people. The family show is also at Washburn Hall.
Tickets for the Ellis Paul/My Silent Bravery evening show at 8pm are available at SymplyFargone , by phone at 508-752-0888 or at the Mechanics Hall Box office at 321 Main St. in Worcester.
My Silent Bravery Video
For more information and interview requests contact Glen Gardner (978-833-9698) or Lauren Shuster (978-855-5573).
