Rory Ellis

Rory Ellis is an Australian singer-songwriter whose work he describes as “urban folk”, drawing on suburban street culture, Melbourne pub life, the city’s underworld, and personal experiences of loss, love and travel. His songs combine strong vocal delivery with subtle acoustic instrumentation, and his material also moves through blues, soul, red-dirt country and home-grown folk influences.

Early releases and recording style

He releases his debut CD, Ride, in 2001. The album is reviewed positively and establishes him as a Melbourne singer-songwriter with a deep, resonant voice and songs rooted in street life and broader human experience. His second solo album, Road Of The Braver Man, appears in 2003 and is recorded live in the studio over three days with Dave Steel, who plays guitars, accordion, percussion, mandolin and cittern. Ellis’s approach at this point is shaped by time spent living in a boxing gym, by playing Melbourne pubs, and by festival performances.

Touring in the UK and Australia

Ellis tours widely in Australia and the UK. In 2004 he tours the UK for the first time, plays more than 60 shows over three months at venues and festivals, and returns later that year for a further run of dates. In 2005, the UK release of The Rushes leads to a seven-month tour of around 120 shows. He performs at UK festivals including Larmer Tree Festival, Fylde Folk Festival, Southsea Festival, Middlewich Festival, Broadstairs Festival and Great British R&B Festival, and at venues such as Borderline, The Spitz and The Garage in London. He also supports Eric Bibb, Chumbawamba, The Beautiful Girls, Rory McLeod and Gordon Haskell, and performs live on air for BBC stations in Jersey, Cornwall, Devon, Cumbria, Leicester and Blackburn.

The Rushes and Two Feathers

The Rushes is released in Australia in 2006. Ellis then signs Two Feathers to UK label Villainous Records in February 2008 and tours the UK again in support of it. The album is recorded at Drysdale Manor, mixed and mastered by Barry Stockley at Fatsound in Melbourne, and produced by Rory Ellis and Dave Steel. It features Australian musicians Chris Wilson, Dave Steel, Peter Luscombe and Tim Neal. The songs address childhood memories, dreams of home, new love, separation, regret, the death of a long-time stage companion, Australian involvement in Iraq, the Sydney riots, unfair work laws, Johnny Cash’s last album, and street life in his hometown.

Festival appearances

Ellis appears regularly at Australian festivals including Port Fairy Folk Festival, National Folk Festival, Apollo Bay Music Festival, Blue Mountains Blues and Roots Festival, Maldon Folk Festival, Cygnet Folk Festival, Skandia Festival, Queenscliff Music Festival, Thredbo Blues Festival, Guildford Blues and Roots, and Torquay Blues and Roots Explosion. In the UK, he also appears at Shetlands Folk Festival, City Blues Weekend, Off the Tracks Festival, Middlewich Folk Festival, Glastonwick Festival, North Devon Festival, Larmer Tree Festival, Two Rivers Festival, Southsea Festival and Stokes Bay Festival.