On May 31, singer-songwriter Ellis Paul will release his new album The Storyteller's Suitcase through his own Rosella Records label. The record is now streaming via Folk Alley's Hear It First. Pre-order the album HERE.
Folk Alley writer Kim Ruehl praised the album saying, "Paul has always been a ruminative, deep-thinking songwriter/storyteller, and The Storyteller's Suitcase is another example of his adept approach to his craft. Once again, we're treated to his particular brand of narrative lyricism and expressive vocals, his catchy melodies and delightful, easy harmonies."
"It's a personal album, it's about family, fatherhood," Paul states. "I'm writing songs still about the search for love and acceptance, but it's also about Charlottesville, soldiers, and elections. I have this skill set that I didn't have in my 20s and 30s. It's patience, maybe, a little more wisdom. And an attitude that I haven't got anything to lose. I already have a supportive audience, they funded the damn thing."
"I figured out that they want me to be the best version of myself, the most honest, the most insightful, the most reflective. I don't need to win the whole world over, just them and me. So I produced the album, did all the art, personally signed every copy so far. I wanted my DNA to soak into the cardboard of it. And that's why I think this record is my best."
As Paul mentions, The Storyteller's Suitcase serves as the first time Paul produced his own record. "I finally felt ready," he says. "Whenever somebody else produces you, even if they're great and you agree all the way, they're still changing what you do in some way. I feel as though I would hand producers a black-and-white photo, and they'd put their own colors on it and hand it back to me. Now I'm hearing my own sounds and getting them on tape. I'm putting down the ink and applying all of my own colors. So this album is a very honest statement from top to bottom. It's a true self-portrait."
Paul continues to tour throughout the U.S. in support of the album. See full list of tour dates below and at his website: https://www.ellispaul.com/calendar/
Tracklist:
1. I Ain't No Jesus
2. You'll Never Be This Young Again
3. Kiss Me 'Cause I'm Gone
4. Scarecrow in a Corn Maze
5. Slingshot
6. The Storyteller's Suitcase
7. How You Say Goodbye
8. Innocence and the Afterlife
9. Five Alarm Fire on the 4th of July
10. The Battle of Charlottesville
11. Mammoth
12. Heaven
13. Election Day
Tour Dates:
May 26 - Kerrville, TX @ Kerville Folk Festival
June 2 - Boothbay Harbor, ME @ The Opera House at Boothbay Harbor
June 2-7 - Monhegan Island, ME @ Roots on the Rocks
June 8 - Boston, MA @ City Winery
June 9 - Bellerica, MA @ Kiva House Concerts
June 28 - Charlottesville, VA @ The Front Porch
July 12 - Okemah, OK @ Woody Guthrie Folk Festival
July 13 - Guthrie, OK @ Magnolia Moon
July 26 - Asheville, NC @ Isis Music Hall
Aug 3 - Duluth, GA @ Red Clay Theater
Aug 24 - Winnsboro, TX @ The Bowery Stage at Winnsboro Center for the Arts
Sept 19 - New London, NH @ Flying Goose Brewpub
Sept 21 - Franklin, MA @ First Universalist Society Meetinghouse
Sept 28 - Santa Monica, CA @ McCabes Guitar Shop
Sept 29 - Santa Monica, CA @ McCabes Guitar Shop
Oct 10 - Warwick, MD @ Worsell Manor Music in the Barn
Oct 17 - Sellersville, PA @ Sellersville Theater
Oct 18 - Cambridge, MA @ Club Passim
Oct 25 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Nov 2 - Evanston, IL @ SPACE
Nov 3 - Val Paraiso, IN @ Front Porch Music
Nov 7 - Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live
Nov 9 - Newport, KY @ York St. Cafe
Nov 16 - Oxford, NY @ Six on the Square
Nov 30 - Decatur, GA @ Eddie's Attic
Dec 13 - Saratoga Springs, NY @ Caffe Lena
Dec 28 - Portland, ME @ One Longfellow Square
Dec 30 - Cambridge, MA @ Club Passim (Early Show)
Dec 30 - Cambridge, MA @ Club Passim (Late Show)
Dec 31 - Cambridge, MA @ Club Passim (Early Show)
Dec 31 - Cambridge, MA @ Club Passim (Late Show)
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