Acclaimed roots music artist and CGOTH veteran William Lee Ellis is a fingerpicking pro versed in acoustic blues and gospel guitar styles, notably the music of Rev. Gary Davis. His latest album, the Yellow Dog release Ghost Hymns, is a Blues Music Awards nominee for Acoustic Blues Album of the Year and has been hailed as one of 2023’s best by DownBeat, Blues Music magazine, and others. Writes Acoustic Guitar, Ellis is a “masterful genre-bender who sounds completely at home and thoroughly invested in whatever style he tackles.” The son of banjo/fiddle composer Tony Ellis, William holds a PhD in ethnomusicology and is also a guitar instructing alum of Jorma Kaukonen’s Fur Peace Ranch and Augusta Blues Week. He lives with his wife and daughter in Vermont, where he is Chair of Fine Arts at Saint Michael’s College.

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