OXFORD – Tonight at 7:30 p.m., 6 On The Square (6OTS) is proud to present nationally acclaimed singer-songwriter, Ellis Paul. As an opener, performer Peyton Tochterman, also a stellar musician and singer-songwriter, will start the exciting evening off on the right foot. Ellis is an award winning singer, influential songwriter, poet, and troubadour. He’s one of the leading voices in American songwriting, credited with revitalizing the acoustic circuit. An evening with two remarkable recording artists will make for a brilliant evening in 6OTS.
Ellis is from a northern Maine potato farming family. He spent five years as a social worker in urban Boston, being exposed to a side of life he had never known. These deeply emotional influences seeped into his music and his career quickly skyrocketed from the fertile Boston folk scene, developing an incredibly devoted fan base.
Paul continues to write with striking poetic imagery, philosophical introspection, and hook-laden melodies. He performs a combination of up-tempo songs and beautiful ballads with themes ranging from Hurricane Katrina to gorgeous love songs. With fourteen Boston Music Awards for Outstanding Male Vocalist under his belt, it seems safe to say that he has managed to merge the modern folk sound with the folk traditions of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger more successfully than perhaps any of his songwriting peers. Ellis averages over 150 shows each year playing venues as small as church basements and as large as Carnegie Hall.
Touted by the Boston Globe as a “songwriter’s songwriter,” Ellis Paul has a charismatic, genuine performance style that has influenced a generation of artists closer towards the essence of folk. He remains among the most pop-friendly of today’s singer-songwriters and his songs regularly appear in hit movies including three of the Farrelly brothers movies, Me, Myself & Irene; Shallow Hal ; and the Farrelly’s latest film, Hall Pass which showcases several musical tracks off of Ellis’ latest album, The Day After Everything Changed. Movie director Peter Farrelly, praised Ellis as “a national treasure.” On TV, Paul’s song “If You Break Down” was used in the final scene of the highly anticipated last episode of NBC’s “Ed.”
When Woody Guthrie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, his daughter, Nora Guthrie, asked Paul to sing at the celebration.
“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’!,” said Nora Guthrie.
Peyton Tochterman has been opening at many venues for Ellis for about a year, and has been drawing fans from all over the country. He’ll also have a brand new solo CD coming out “officially” in April, with Ellis, Stacey Earle, and a few other artists of note on it. Mary Beth Aungier, of The Paramount Theater in VA wrote of Tochterman’s music, “He is not only bound for glory, but deserving of it!”
Purchase tickets on-line at the discounted price of $20 (plus a $2 service charge), until the day of the show; $25 at the door. (Sorry, no Buy 6! tickets for this performance!) Ticket price for students is always $2; call to make a student reservation.
While you’re there, or before the show (starting at 6:30 p.m.), don’t miss the opportunity to see David M. Geer’s scenic oil paintings now through April 30.
Don’t miss future performances by: Mazz Swift on April 13; Amy Speace on April 20; (Friday nights); and Seamus Kennedy on April 28 at 7:30 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. Visit the website at www.6onthesquare.org for tickets and future event information.
6OTS is located at 6 LaFayette Park in downtown Oxford. Phone: (607) 843-OTS6 (6876).