Tinsley Ellis. 8:30 p.m. Feb. 21. $17.50 advance; $20 day of the show at the box office. $21.45 online via Ticketmaster. Variety Playhouse, 1099 Euclid Ave. N.E., Atlanta. 1-800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.
Keeping the Georgia blues torch lit means one thing to Atlanta-based guitar slinger and singer Tinsley Ellis: fiery fretwork. His annual one-night stand at Variety Playhouse finds him jamming where his initial sparks flew decades earlier.
“It’s great to be back in the neighborhood where I started out,” Ellis said. “I was playing Little Five Points almost 40 years ago. How did that happen? I don’t feel like an old man.”
Youthful exuberance notwithstanding, Ellis sits atop a solid reputation in the genre, a sprawling discography and many road miles, from Montreal to Minsk. Yet the yearly homecoming always holds something special.
“We’re very accessible and approachable at the concert, just like we were back in the day when there weren’t any dressing rooms,” Ellis said with a light chuckle. “So it’s not like an ordinary concert on the road when we emerge from the back and perform, and then maybe emerge at a merchandise table after the show. And that feels good.”
The true satisfaction arguably comes when Ellis and company take the stage, drawing from a catalog of fan favorites plucked from the different phases of his career. Expect a sizable nod to his long stint on lauded blues label Alligator Records, which helped push the ax man into the aqua spotlight. Familiar licks intertwine with those heard on more recent releases, including the new “Tough Love.”
On the new album, Ellis, backed by veterans of Delbert McClinton’s band, jumps from soulful balladry to countrified to raucous shuffle, all painted from a palette of deep blue. The days of crafting a disc with radio-ready sensibilities long gone; Ellis said he creates music strictly for the faithful.
“I learned the hard way about trying to make albums that radio would play,” he explained. “I zig and they zag. When I go the way I think they’re going, they’ve already gone somewhere else by the time I get there.”
Instead, Ellis opted to take the advice he once received from local recording engineer Jeff Bakos: “You can never go wrong making an album for your fans.” And that remains Ellis’ musical mantra.
Those fans love the blues, but the state of the genre has Ellis concerned.
B.B. King, who once handed a broken string straight off his guitar Lucille to a young Ellis, likely won’t be playing live much anymore. The legendary Otis Rush has hung up his guitar. And Koko Taylor, Son Seals, Albert Collins and other greats Ellis played with off and on through the years, now gig in that great juke joint in the sky.
For blues to make another mainstream comeback, Ellis said it’s up to younger guns such as guitarists Selwyn Birchwood and Jarekus Singleton.
“Pop culture in general is driven by two factors: youth and image,” Ellis said. “I don’t have either. … It takes young people to get young people excited about a genre.”
But despite approaching elder statesman status, Ellis still gets the same thrill he had when he plugged his guitar into his first amp. And continuing to be part of Georgia’s blues legacy remains a priority. His recent performance at the state Capitol in front of Gov. Nathan Deal and members of the Legislature as part of 2015 Tourism, Hospitality and Arts Day gave him the warm and fuzzies.
Flanked by fellow honoree Flournoy Holmes, the legendary Southern rock album cover artist who snapped the cover photo for “Tough Love,” Ellis hammered out Blind Willie McTell’s “Statesboro Blues” on his metal dobro.
“Georgia’s now known for a lot of different music and styles,” Ellis said, “but we can put our blues up against any other state’s blues.”
About the Author
