Seeing Ellis perform at the Dolores Park Café in San Francisco, I couldn’t help but be impressed by the energy she brings to her show. Accompanied only by an acoustic guitar that she plays, she sings, “I have a heart that’s breaking / just need some space to fall apart / I have been stubborn lately / running from you grace.”

As her voice rises on the notes of last word, her body rocks into the guitar, her foot stamping the rug beneath her in rhythm to the music. It’s like all of her being is behind the force of the song—it’s not just her strong, clear voice that delivers those lyrics, it’s all of her.

For someone who tours over 130 days a year and usually performs alone—a schedule that would leave most people exhausted—Ellis’s positive spirit and enthusiasm for her fans is inspirational. “I love playing music, but I have the same songs every night,” she conceded earlier, while we sat across from each other at a small table in the café, an untouched sandwich—her attempt to eat dinner during our interview—at her elbow.

“So I’m always trying to put more life into ’em and figure out a way to make ’em a little bit different. That’s exciting, but I feel like the reason why I do that isn’t so much for myself, it’s for the folks that come to the shows.” Fingering the tall glass of fragrant herbal tea in front of her, she continues, “The motivation is to give to the people that come to see me. But then…the gift that I get back is huge." She admits with a laugh, "I’m kind of addicted to it, to be honest.”

With her striking blue eyes and tousled dark hair, Ellis is certainly the perfect pinup boi. But Ellis is more than a photogenic folksinger making the rounds at lesbian-friendly coffeehouses; she has released five solo CDs, runs her own record label, and has independently sold more than 20,000 copies of her albums across the U.S.—all before her 29th birthday.

In 2003 she released her fourth CD, Tigers Above, Tigers Below, working with acclaimed musicians including Julie Wolf (who often works with Ani DiFranco and Catie Curtis, among others) and Travis McNabb (from Better Than Ezra). This past year she released a fan-produced live album, Evidence of Joy, which features many of the trademarks of her live shows: her engaging banter between songs, and her infectious, surprising laughter. She recently wrapped up filming a live performance DVD, which will include interviews with Ellis and some archival footage of early shows, and she is already planning her next studio album. In the midst of all this, she still finds time to ponder her own personal growth. “I’m always trying to improve myself,” she says, “so I have some personal goals on that side too.”

Although she now calls Minneapolis home, Ellis grew up in Southeastern Texas, listening to Barbara Mandrell, Loretta Lynn, and Dolly Parton. “I listened to a lot of country music,” she admits. “I mean, I was in Texas, so I probably couldn’t get away from that. But I really loved music from back then.” She and her mother moved to Minnesota when she was 16, but Ellis still retains a bit of her Texas twang, although it’s been muted by years of living in the Midwest and now mostly emerges in her usage of “y’all.”

An entirely self-taught musician, Ellis wrote her first song in middle school and began performing in a band during her junior year in high school. “Actually,” she confesses with a laugh, “the band—when they hired me to be the keyboard player, they didn’t know I couldn’t read music!” Luckily for Ellis, the band’s keyboard parts were fairly simple and she was able to learn quickly. When they offered her a few opportunities to sing lead, she realized that was what she really loved. “I was like, yeah I wanna be the front person, this is what really feeds me.”

While a student at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, Ellis began playing solo gigs and released her first CD, Soft Day, on her own record label, Rubberneck Records, in 1996. “Rubberneck,” she explains, “was an old song that I had written and I just sort of got tired of the song…but I kind of liked the idea of that whole—you know, rubbernecking, being curious.” At the same time, Ellis began performing as part of the six-piece funk/rock band Bobby Llama, where she played the flute and acoustic guitar.

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