~Formal Showcase Artist at NERFA 2007 and Folk Alliance 2008
~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"
Ellis is a rising star on the folk music circuit, creating a buzz after being voted “Most Wanted to Return” and performing on the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival preview tour. This talented singer, songwriter and guitarist has since been invited back to several première listening rooms including Club Passim, Outpost in the Burbs, Caffe Lena, and P.A.C.E. as well as a formal showcase at the 2007 NERFA conference. She has also been asked to open for several established artists such as Patty Larkin, Richard Shindell, Cheryl Wheeler, and Todd Snider.
Ellis has a wealth of accomplishments including songwriting and performance awards, but even more outstanding is her sincere graciousness and ability to remain down to earth while her career is riding high. Known for her vibrant and open-hearted nature and contagious sense of humor, Ellis’ music is described as joyful, unpretentious modern folk with a slight hint of country inspired by her southern roots.
Brief Bio
New Album: Break The Spell
Her sixth release Break The Spell is a collection of soulful songs with complex arrangements that seem deceptively simple and never overpower the message. At each point during the recording, Ellis asked herself “How can I deliver these songs in the clearest, most undefended way, embracing the joys, sorrows and doubts with confidence and also with a tender approach?”
Fans and music critics alike describe Ellis’ music as a journey of self-discovery and awakening. Break The Spell embodies this sentiment, featuring lyrics rich with meaning. In the songs, she explores the power and complexity of loss as well as the opportunity to re-invent ourselves each day.
Ellis says, “I had the intention to embrace these songs and my own heart in a way that was focused on the effects on the listener. We kept asking ‘Does it move us emotionally?’ and tried not to make decisions based on what sounded ‘cool’.”
The title track explores her intention to be in alignment with her deepest values and not be swayed by doubts or fears. Break The Spell invites listeners to examine the ways they might be “caught” and offers hope that these spells we cast on ourselves can be broken. Several of the songs echo this sentiment, including the inspirational How Would It Be, Red Light, and Blackbird.
Other songs take a more somber tone, including City On Fire, where Ellis tries to understand what it must be like for those who are currently living in a war zone. Another is the poignant Words You Said, an intimate ballad about losing the one you love, and the bitter-sweetness of moving on.
Fans and music critics alike describe Ellis’ music as a journey of self-discovery and awakening. Break The Spell embodies this sentiment, featuring lyrics rich with meaning. In the songs, she explores the power and complexity of loss as well as the opportunity to re-invent ourselves each day.
Ellis says, “I had the intention to embrace these songs and my own heart in a way that was focused on the effects on the listener. We kept asking ‘Does it move us emotionally?’ and tried not to make decisions based on what sounded ‘cool’.”
The title track explores her intention to be in alignment with her deepest values and not be swayed by doubts or fears. Break The Spell invites listeners to examine the ways they might be “caught” and offers hope that these spells we cast on ourselves can be broken. Several of the songs echo this sentiment, including the inspirational How Would It Be, Red Light, and Blackbird.
Other songs take a more somber tone, including City On Fire, where Ellis tries to understand what it must be like for those who are currently living in a war zone. Another is the poignant Words You Said, an intimate ballad about losing the one you love, and the bitter-sweetness of moving on.
Media Quotes
"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
"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, IN)
"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, IN)
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. She began touring full-time in 2000 and has independently sold more than 30,000 copies of her five CDs.
Ellis started performing the women’s festival circuit in 2000, with regular performances at the Michigan Women’s Music Festival and recently headlined the National Women’s Music Festival in 2006. She has since made her debut at several folk festivals in 2007, including the Loyalist City Folk Festival (Canada), the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival.
Although she tours nationally more than 130 dates each year, she continues to retain a devoted following in Minneapolis where she was voted Best Musician for five consecutive years and named 2007 Best Musical Artist by readers of the Minnesota Women’s Press. She is also a favorite on college campuses, and students recently nominated her as 2006 Best Female Performer in Campus Activities Magazine.
