Sit Down with Ellis Paul

Pull up a chair to hear from Ellis Paul, a guitar-carrying reporter who covers the human condition and details the hopes, loves, and losses of those he observes, turning their stories into luminous pieces of music that get under your skin and into your bloodstream. He is the founder and co-host of the New England Songwriter’s Retreat which supports songwriters with all levels of experience through a variety of workshops, concerts and 1-on-1 coaching. We learn how the David Glaser Songwriting scholarships offer financial support to several of the students who apply. Ellis identifies the song for us that he is most proud of writing. Then, he does smashingly well during a lightning round of Traveling Songwriter Geography. Ellis mentions the book, Woody Guthrie, A Life (by Joe Klein) before recounting his own feelings about Woody and first visit to Okemah, OK through his relationships with the Guthrie family. He fills us in on all the amazing facets of the ninth annual New England Songwriters Retreat (newenglandsongwritersretreat.com) which offers instruction, inspiration and community. He provides strategies for singer-songwriters and, I promise you…, his advice for tackling performance nerves will further explain why Ellis Paul is a veteran artist held in such high regard. Ellis describes working with Caffe Lena’s TrueSongs program (https://spac.org/events/truesongs-2024-lyrics-of-life) and his experience this year partnering with veteran, Troy Huggard, who received support from Alliance 180 (alliance180.org). Finally, Ellis explains why he enjoys performing at benefit shows. Check out Ellis’ website (ellispaul.com) where you can find everything you need like his Patreon page, tour dates and recordings, Retreat information and the vacation trips that he leads. Hear more rare conversations at Compassionate Measures dot org and invite another music friend to pull up a chair. Join our community on Facebook or Instagram. Thanks always to YOU for listening, to Ellis Paul who’s out there changing the world and to Chris Downey for putting it all together.