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Ellis Paul

Modern folk artist returns for their third concert

Longview Texas News Journal

Thursday, January 9, 2014

by Amy Pearson

Modern folk artist returns for their third concert
Posted: Thursday, January 9, 2014 4:00 am By Amy Pearson apearson@news-journal.com
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Niki and Darren Groce are so enamored of Ellis Paul, they wanted the singer/songwriter to play at their wedding. It didn’t quite work out, but that didn’t stop the pair, otherwise known as Lake Cherokee House Concerts, from bringing Paul back to East Texas three times. Ellis will play Sunday in the Fellowship Hall at the Church at Lake Cherokee in Henderson as part of the Lake Cherokee Concerts series. “Ellis is the epitome of the singer/songwriter: great lyrics and amazing guitar combined with a mesmerizing stage presence,” Niki Groce said. “He is such an incredible performer.” Paul hails from the Boston folk music scene, and helped revitalize the national acoustic circuit with an urban, literate, folk rock style that helped renew interest in the folk genre during the 1990s. He was heavily influenced by the folk stylings of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, and some have said Paul has successfully bridged the gap between traditional and modern folk music. Nora Guthrie, Woody’s daughter, invited Paul to to perform at a Woody Guthrie tribute show held in September 1996 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. The show was part of a 10-day celebration to honor Woody and also included performances by Bruce Springsteen, Ani DiFranco and Billy Bragg. “A singer songwriter is only as good as the times he reflects,” Nora Guthrie said. “In times like these, when so many nuts are running the show, it’s comforting to know that Ellis Paul is actually holding our sanity on his own stage! Wise, tender, brilliant and biting, Ellis is one of our best human compasses, marking in melodies and poems where we’ve been and where we might go if we so choose to. Personally Ellis, I’m goin’ where you’re goin’!” Paul has released 14 CDs, a documentary/concert DVD called “3,000 Miles,” and “Notes from the Road,” a book of poems and stories. He has won 14 Boston Music Awards, sung at Fenway Park for the Red Sox, The Boston Garden for the Celtics and even had the mayor of Boston, Thomas M. Menino, proclaim it “Ellis Paul Day in Boston” on July 9th, 2010 when Ellis celebrated his 20th year in making music. Paul’s songs are heard in various commercials, documentaries, TV shows such as “Ed” and MTV’s “Real World“; and in the soundtracks of blockbuster films, including three Farrelly Brothers films: “Hall Pass“, starring Owen Wilson and Alyssa Milano, “Me, Myself, & Irene,” starring Jim Carrey, and “Shallow Hal,” with Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow. Read the article here

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