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Ellis Paul

Two VERY SPECIAL Events coming up in May - and a FREE download 🎉

TMS Fest NESR Online

TMS Fest! NESR Online!

Hello, Friends—

I’m sitting at my desk writing this with more than a little relief. A weight has been released from my mind. My two shots have been rendered, two weeks have passed, and I can walk in the sun today with a degree of freedom I haven’t felt in over 14 months. I can sit in a restaurant with friends and have a meal. Hug them. I realize we have several months ahead of us, some big unknowns, but better times are ahead. My calendar is coming alive with dates, where I will be performing on a stage with lights and laughter. So many reasons to celebrate.

In fact, this month has TWO very special gatherings, to celebrate online. Both were born out of the pandemic and my love of songwriting, songwriters, and music. I hope you’ll join us for one or both:

EVENT #1: THE TRAVELING MEDICINE SHOW FESTIVAL!

SUNDAY, MAY 23 6PM-10 PM ET

📣 Announcing the 1st Annual Traveling Medicine Show Festival, an online music festival celebrating songwriters!

Featuring performers: 🎉Tom Rush, 🎉Susan Werner, 🎉Vance Gilbert, 🎉Adam Ezra Group, 🎉Willy Porter, 🎉Rose Cousins, 🎉Jonathan Byrd, 🎉Nobody's Girl, 🎉Heather Mae, 🎉Crys Matthews, 🎉Benjamin Dakota Rogers, 🎉Laurie MacAllister, 🎉and your Host Ellis Paul.

I'm very excited about this gathering around the one-year anniversary of my weekly Traveling Medicine Show. If you haven’t seen the Friday night show, it's a livestream I host every Friday night on Facebook Live, always with a special guest—some of the best touring songwriters in the world. I’ve created an online festival with a dozen acts, from legends of the road to emerging songwriters.

🎟 TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW, starting at just $25:

https://www.tribalmischief.com/traveling-medicine-show-festival

(for substantial discounts, first subscribe to: www.patreon.com/ellispaul).

EVENT #2: THE NEW ENGLAND SONGWRITERS RETREAT - ONLINE!

MAY 28-31 (Memorial Day Weekend)

📣 The New England Songwriters Retreat is going VIRTUAL!

The pandemic has now twice cancelled this yearly gathering of songwriters I host at a quaint historic inn in Connecticut. By moving the event online, it allows us to gather via zoom and share this community-building experience of music from the comfort of your homes! And at an affordable price. We're calling it NESR Online. This will give us a chance to gather and learn with our incredible community, and put some wind in all our sails, and celebrate the craft of songwriting with a group of like-minded souls.

The gathering will meet virtually (on Zoom) for classes, lectures, song circles and concerts over Memorial Day weekend (May 28-31). I will hosting and teaching as always, and I’ve brought in a couple of amazing talents to help. We’re bringing you about 100 years (!) of combined experience with professional songwriting and touring!

  • Master songwriter 🎉 Dan Navarro has signed on as an Instructor! Dan has had a truly fascinating 30-year career in the music industry, most notably writing Pat Benatar’s mega-hit “We Belong”. He's like a brother to me, and I'm honored to welcome him into our NESR family.
  • We’ve also added award-winning songwriter 🎉 Catie Curtis! Catie is a fellow Mainer; she and I cut our teeth in the Boston music scene together in the early 90s—she too is like family to me. Catie's songs have been featured in film and television, and she's played everywhere from the Newport Folk Festival to the White House.
  • As always, Red Molly’s 🎉 Laurie MacAllister is our Retreat Coordinator, handling the details, sharing her love of songs, and I’m sure singing a surprise song or two, or ten :)

Tuition for the weekend will be $300 (or $400 if you add one-on-one mentoring).

🎟 ENROLLMENT IS OPEN NOW: Just PayPal $300 or $400 to this address: newenglandsongwritersretreat@gmail.com

IMPORTANT: Please Choose "Sending to a Friend" to avoid fees.

All the still-unfolding details are here: www.newenglandsongwritersretreat.com. SPACE WILL BE LIMITED, so enroll soon for this very special experience—a weekend full of creativity, inspiration and fun.

With all this event organizing, maybe by June, I’ll be a wedding planner :) I hope you'll join us for the Festival and the Retreat! It will be a great way to mark the beginning of the end of an era we'll always remember!

THANK YOU for supporting my creative life—here’s a free download for you—a throwback to my earlier days: “Conversation with a Ghost” feat. Patty Griffin: https://song.space/2z9saf/song/829005

Very best to you all—

Ellis