Event

Ellis Paul

Ellis Paul's songwriting credentials are as unassailable as the 15 Boston Music Awards he's earned, as indelible as the tattoo of Woody Guthrie on his arm, as authentic as the musical roots from which he draws. He emerged from the Boston music scene at a time when contemporary folk was just cracking the mainstream. In the 20-plus years since, he's played 150 to 200 shows annually; released 19 records, a documentary film, a book of poems and short stories, an award-winning children's book project, and contributed to numerous Hollywood soundtracks. He's become a staple at the Newport Folk Festival, played the likes of Carnegie hall, and is a staple at the Woody Guthrie Festival in Guthrie's birthplace of Okemah, Oklahoma. "I've got a car with over 475,000 miles on it, and it's my third road vehicle," he declares. "There isn't a town in the country where I won't find a friend. I'm a nomad. And I'm gonna write and play until I'm gone." Where Paul is "goin'" is wherever a microphone beckons and a crowd of the folk faithful awaits.