Marcia Ball, Tinsley Ellis

×

Expand

Mary Bruton

A close-up of Marcia Ball.

Marcia Ball

media release: Tickets: $30 Advance/$35 DOS; Gold Circle: $45 Advance/$50 DOS. Gold Circle includes early entry and preferred seating. his is a General Admission show.

Alligator Records artists Tinsley Ellis and Marcia Ball will bring their “Acoustic Songs and Stories Tour” to the Barrymore Theatre in Madison on Saturday, April 15, 2023. Each artist will play a solo set, and to close the intimate evening they will join forces and share some songs and stories together. Ellis plans to perform many of his most popular songs, plus Delta blues covers and classics by artists like Gregg Allman, Bob Dylan and Leo Kottke, on his 1937 National Steel and 1969 Martin D-35 guitars. Ball will play piano and sing her often raucous and sometimes touching original songs full of the characters and places that shaped her. They will weave the music together with stories from their years on stage and on the road.

“Feral blues guitar...non-stop gigging has sharpened his six-string to a razor’s edge...his eloquence dazzles...he achieves pyrotechnics that rival early Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton.” --Rolling Stone

Tinsley Ellis’ latest release, Devil May Care, features ten of Ellis’ most dynamic original compositions, mixing muscular rock ‘n’ roll and hard blues into his own instantly recognizable sound. The emotionally-charged guitar solos soar in full service to the songs, as if he is living and breathing the sound rather than simply playing the notes. “The goal,” says Ellis, “was to make the guitar sing.” Relix  says Ellis’ music contains “powerful spine-tingling guitar and gritty, soulful vocals …an inspired and passionate fusion of blues and Southern rock.” Guitar World declares, “Ellis’ playing sparkles with depth and subtlety. Whether playing deep, slow blues or up-tempo rockers, Ellis rides a gorgeously fat, pure tone.”  Ellis recently received two Blues Music Award nominations for Blues Rock Album Of The Year (for Devil May Care) and Blues Rock Artist Of The Year. The awards ceremony will be held in Memphis, Tennessee on Thursday, May 11.

Ellis has been immersed in music his whole life. Born in Atlanta 1957 and raised in southern Florida, he acquired his first guitar at age seven, inspired by seeing The Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show. He took to guitar instantly, developing and sharpening his skills as he grew up. Like many kids his age, Ellis discovered the blues through the back door of British Invasion bands like The Yardbirds, The Animals, Cream and The Rolling Stones as well as Southern rockers like the Allman Brothers. One night in 1972, he and a friend were listening to Al Kooper and Michael Bloomfield’s Super Session record when his friend’s older brother told them that, if they liked Super Session , they should go see B.B. King, who was in town that week. Tinsley saw that show from the very front row. As fate would have it, King broke a guitar string while playing, and after changing it without missing a beat, he handed the broken string to young Tinsley. And yes, he still has that string.

Ellis has toured the world non-stop for 35 years. He has captivated and amazed fans in all 50 United States, as well as in Canada, all across Europe, Australia and South America. He’s earned a massive, fervent fan base that can never seem to get enough of Ellis and his music. Fueled by his blazing, every-note-matters guitar work and his gruff, spirited vocals, Ellis delivers one imaginative and memorable song after another.

According to Allmusic.com, “Ellis’ playing underscores the emotional depth in the lyrics. His meaty solos dig deep.” Blues Music Magazine says,“ Rugged, burning and riveting….Tinsley Ellis is a powerful and commanding presence, both on guitar and as a gruff, full-throated vocalist. It’s hard to overstate the raw power of his music. It’s impossible to not enjoy the ride.”

“Rollicking, playful, good-time blues and intimate, reflective balladry...her songs ring with emotional depth.” --Rolling Stone

Marcia Ball has won worldwide fame and countless fans for her ability to ignite a full-scale roadhouse rhythm and blues party every time she takes the stage. Ball’s romping Texas boogies, swampy New Orleans ballads and groove-laden Gulf Coast blues have made her a one-of-a-kind favorite with music lovers all over the world. Her latest album, Shine Bright, produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos, is full of everything music fans love about Marcia—rollicking two-fisted piano, soulful vocals, a top-shelf band of Texas and Louisiana musicians, and Marcia’s magnificent songwriting.

With Shine Bright, Ball set out to, in her words, “Make the best Marcia Ball record I could make.” In doing so, she has put together the most musically substantial, hopeful and uplifting set of songs of her five-decade career. Produced by Steve Berlin (Los Lobos) and recorded in Texas and Louisiana, Shine Bright contains twelve songs (including nine originals), ranging from the title track’s rousing appeal for public and private acts of courage to the upbeat call to action of Pots And Pans, a song inspired by renowned Texas political writer and humorist Molly Ivins. From the humorous advice of Life Of The Party to the poignantly optimistic World Full Of Love , the intensity of Ball’s conviction never wavers while, simultaneously, the fun never stops. Shine Bright is exactly the album Ball set out to make. “It is a ridiculously hopeful, cheerful record,” she says, in light of some of the album’s more serious subject matter. The secret, according to Ball “is to set the political songs to a good dance beat.”  

Now, with Shine Bright, Ball’s aggressively hopeful songs are energized by Steve Berlin’s inventive and exciting production, creating electrifying music that is daring, inspired, poignant and timely. The Boston Globe calls Ball “a compelling storyteller” who plays “an irresistible, celebratory blend of rollicking New Orleans piano, Louisiana swamp rock and smoldering Texas blues.” The New York Times says, “Marcia Ball plays two-fisted New Orleans barrelhouse piano and sings in a husky, knowing voice about all the trouble men and women can get into on the way to a good time.” The Houston Chronicle says simply, “She’s as perfect as an artist can be.”