Ellis may not be a household name, but once you’ve seen her perform you’re not likely to forget her. A mix of folk artist, dharma teacher, and comedienne, her music is best described by the effect it has on her audience rather than a particular genre. Simply put, she leaves audiences better than she finds them, with softened edges & opened hearts. With compelling songwriting and engaging performances, Ellis is quietly amassing a loyal following of supporters across the country.
A native of Texas, Ellis moved to Minneapolis at the age of 16, where she quickly built a local following that blossomed into a nationwide presence, with extensive touring and seven albums released in the last sixteen years. In addition to selling more than 35,000 copies of her CDs independently, Ellis has accrued a wealth of accomplishments including national songwriting honors and performances at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Sisters Folk Festival and the Rocky Mountain Folk Festival.
Brief Bio
New Album: Right On Time (2010)
Right On Time is Ellis’ seventh full-length recording and it signals a shift towards greater ease and self-assurance with her art. Simply adorned, the album allows her intimate vocals and heart-felt lyrics to shine brightly. Right On Time demonstrates the strength of Ellis’ songwriting and her gift of expressing ideas of love, longing, and letting go, all without pretense or cynicism. More lighthearted than the award-winning Break The Spell (2008), Ellis shows that she can now laugh at herself and life’s troubles.
The album is bookended by dedications. The title track “Right On Time” is a wish for her newborn daughter to trust she is on her own timeline in a culture where we are encouraged to go faster and faster, and closing the record is a heart-felt expression of love and gratitude to the matriarch of her family (her Granny), called “You Are Royalty To Me”.
Produced by Ben Wisch, Right On Time includes spare musical accompaniment by Duke Levine on acoustic guitars, Tony Levin on bass, and Larry Campbell on pedal steel, among others. Also, Ellis collaborated with painter Ann Getsinger on the artwork, featuring four pieces from Ann’s “Panoptica” series of oil paintings.
The album is bookended by dedications. The title track “Right On Time” is a wish for her newborn daughter to trust she is on her own timeline in a culture where we are encouraged to go faster and faster, and closing the record is a heart-felt expression of love and gratitude to the matriarch of her family (her Granny), called “You Are Royalty To Me”.
Produced by Ben Wisch, Right On Time includes spare musical accompaniment by Duke Levine on acoustic guitars, Tony Levin on bass, and Larry Campbell on pedal steel, among others. Also, Ellis collaborated with painter Ann Getsinger on the artwork, featuring four pieces from Ann’s “Panoptica” series of oil paintings.
History
After moving from Texas to Minneapolis at age 16, Ellis got her start singing her own songs at open mics where she quickly dropped her often-mispronounced last name (Bergeron). She joined a rock band in high school while also setting up her own record label to put out her first solo CD Soft Day in 1996. In college at St Olaf, she fronted the band Bobby Llama and in 1999 the back was voted Sam Goody/Musicland's Best Unsigned Band in America. Ellis went solo and began touring full-time in 2000. Since then she has independently sold more than 35,000 copies of her six CDs.
Ellis got her start performing the women’s/LGBT festival circuit in 2000, with regular performances at the Michigan Women’s Music Festival. She also has headlined the National Women’s Music Festival in 2006 & 2008 and the Virgina Women's Music Festival in 2009.
She has also established herself as a rising artist in the folk music community. She was voted "Most Wanted to Return" by the audience at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in 2006, and has since been invited to perform at several other folk festivals including the Philadelphia Folk Festival, the Festival for the Eno, the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival.
She has also received several songwriting awards and honors, including Top Five awards at the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Songwriting Contest (2005), the Telluride Troubadour Contest (2006), and the Kerrville Music To Life Songwriting Contest (2008). Recently, she has been nominated for two awards in the Just Plain Folks 2009 Music Awards, in the categories of Female Singer/Songwriter for Best Album (Break the Spell) and Best Song ("City on Fire").
Although she tours nationally more than 100 dates each year, she continues to retain a devoted following in Minneapolis where she was voted Best Musician for five consecutive years and named 2008 Best Musical Artist by readers of the Minnesota Women’s Press. She is also a favorite on college campuses, and students nominated her as 2006 Best Female Performer in Campus Activities Magazine.
In 2009, Ellis released a retrospective DVD entitled "Scrapbook" that includes a look back at the first 12 years of her career, as well as a live concert and an MP3 CD with the songs from her first five albums, including the first Bobby Llama CD.
In 2010, Ellis completed her seventh full-length recording, Right On Time.
Ellis got her start performing the women’s/LGBT festival circuit in 2000, with regular performances at the Michigan Women’s Music Festival. She also has headlined the National Women’s Music Festival in 2006 & 2008 and the Virgina Women's Music Festival in 2009.
She has also established herself as a rising artist in the folk music community. She was voted "Most Wanted to Return" by the audience at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in 2006, and has since been invited to perform at several other folk festivals including the Philadelphia Folk Festival, the Festival for the Eno, the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival.
She has also received several songwriting awards and honors, including Top Five awards at the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Songwriting Contest (2005), the Telluride Troubadour Contest (2006), and the Kerrville Music To Life Songwriting Contest (2008). Recently, she has been nominated for two awards in the Just Plain Folks 2009 Music Awards, in the categories of Female Singer/Songwriter for Best Album (Break the Spell) and Best Song ("City on Fire").
Although she tours nationally more than 100 dates each year, she continues to retain a devoted following in Minneapolis where she was voted Best Musician for five consecutive years and named 2008 Best Musical Artist by readers of the Minnesota Women’s Press. She is also a favorite on college campuses, and students nominated her as 2006 Best Female Performer in Campus Activities Magazine.
In 2009, Ellis released a retrospective DVD entitled "Scrapbook" that includes a look back at the first 12 years of her career, as well as a live concert and an MP3 CD with the songs from her first five albums, including the first Bobby Llama CD.
In 2010, Ellis completed her seventh full-length recording, Right On Time.
Awards & Recent Accomplishments
- Winner, Best Female Singer-Songwriter Album 2009- Break The Spell, Just Plain Folks Awards
- Nominee, Best Female Singer-Songwriter Song 2009 - "City On Fire", Just Plain Folks Awards
- Break The Spell chosen at Top DIY pick in Performing Songwriter, June 2008
- Break The Spell, Honorable Mention in the Best Music in Minnesota 2008, The Onion
- Formal Showcase Artist at Folk Alliance 2009 and NERFA 2007
- Telluride Troubadour Songwriting Contest 2007 Top Ten Finalist
- Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Voted 2006 "Most Wanted to Return"
- Campus Activities Magazine Nominee 2006 "Best Female Artist"
Media Quotes
"Ellis walks on stage, flashes a bashful grin and does what she does best: singing her heart out every single time. She has a lovely voice, guitar chops and a graceful songwriting style; however, there is something about her live performance that is transformational. The sum is greater than the parts, and she is amazing."
— Dale Schiff, Just Out (Portland)
"Break the Spell is a cathartic, intimate, and ultimately transcendent modern folk record. It's not trendy, or groundbreaking, or particularly adventurous. What it is is very, very real. It gets to you the way you crave a record to get to you."
— Michael L Walsh, City Pages, Minneapolis, MN
"Ellis has one of most engaging personalities that I've ever witnessed on a stage. Within seconds, [you'll fall] in love with her bubbling attitude for life, and her captivating laugh has been echoing in my heart all week!" — Ron Olesko, WFDU
"Ellis effectively conveys songs filled with love and the longing for it, baring her soul and demonstrating a vulnerability that makes Break the Spell easily her most compelling attempt yet."
— Performing Songwriter Magazine (June 2008)
"From the highest highs to the lowest lows, Break the Spell takes listeners on an emotional journey of love, mourning and renewal. And what a voice!"
— Chris Kocher, Press & Sun-Bulletin, Binghamton, NY
"Ellis takes all the elements of life (joy, grief, hope, love and more) and distills them into introspective songs that embrace our complicated human existence. How does it feel? Amazing." — Crystal Sarakas, WSKG Public Radio
"Ellis is an artist whose time has come." — Gregg Shapiro, Chicago Free Press
"A smart writer with a unique folk/rock style, Ellis has a big voice and a fearless approach to serving up her words."— Jim Beal, San Antonio Express-News
"She is unequivocally a lyrical marvel."— Rick Farrant, Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne
— Dale Schiff, Just Out (Portland)
"Break the Spell is a cathartic, intimate, and ultimately transcendent modern folk record. It's not trendy, or groundbreaking, or particularly adventurous. What it is is very, very real. It gets to you the way you crave a record to get to you."
— Michael L Walsh, City Pages, Minneapolis, MN
"Ellis has one of most engaging personalities that I've ever witnessed on a stage. Within seconds, [you'll fall] in love with her bubbling attitude for life, and her captivating laugh has been echoing in my heart all week!" — Ron Olesko, WFDU
"Ellis effectively conveys songs filled with love and the longing for it, baring her soul and demonstrating a vulnerability that makes Break the Spell easily her most compelling attempt yet."
— Performing Songwriter Magazine (June 2008)
"From the highest highs to the lowest lows, Break the Spell takes listeners on an emotional journey of love, mourning and renewal. And what a voice!"
— Chris Kocher, Press & Sun-Bulletin, Binghamton, NY
"Ellis takes all the elements of life (joy, grief, hope, love and more) and distills them into introspective songs that embrace our complicated human existence. How does it feel? Amazing." — Crystal Sarakas, WSKG Public Radio
"Ellis is an artist whose time has come." — Gregg Shapiro, Chicago Free Press
"A smart writer with a unique folk/rock style, Ellis has a big voice and a fearless approach to serving up her words."— Jim Beal, San Antonio Express-News
"She is unequivocally a lyrical marvel."— Rick Farrant, Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne
