Though only recently legally old enough to drink, Houston-bred singer/songwriter Robert Ellis is being treated by the music press like a veteran artist who’s been in the game for the past four decades or so. That’s largely due to Ellis’ wise-beyond-his-years talent, something evident to anyone who has spent time with the songwriter’s first two timeless Country Rock albums, most notably Photographs, which is loaded with proof of Ellis’ rich writing gifts. High-profile press accolades have come from The New York Times (which compared him to Jackson Browne and George Jones), Spin and U.K. magazine Mojo, to name but a few. Ellis plays a free show Thursday at MOTR Pub (1345 Main St., Over-the-Rhine). Like-minded local singer/songwriter Mark Utley (of Magnolia Mountain) opens the show.
This article appears in Nov 30 – Dec 6, 2011.