Texas Piano Man Robert Ellis supports EELS this summer; headlining dates in the fall
12-06-2019"Dressed head to heels in a white tuxedo, Robert Ellis has now fully embraced his role as Texas troubadour, putting a little Gram Parsons-style honky-tonk into the bedazzled piano-pop of Elton John" - (NPR).
Robert Ellis brings us the Texas Piano Man, a character or persona that isn’t made up whole cloth, but rather a large projection of Ellis’ wilder inclinations. A guy who named his publishing company Southern Liberace has embraced the idea of being a Rocket Man from Space. City. This is the Texas Piano Man who made Texas Piano Man, a record that nods at its honky tonk roots set by a guitarist as he finds more room to roam while playing a stationary instrument and pulls from a tradition set by Billy Joel, Leon Russell and Elton John. Guys who sat at that large stationary instrument, and plinked away at it in a manner that balanced honesty and mythology.
Should the feelings come across as too intimate on paper, the presentation by the Texas Piano Man sells it with feral abandon and pop majesty, “screaming like an animal and rattling your cage,” as he puts it in one song before bringing in some pretty cooing vocals that remind of Brian Wilson’s work. Putting down his guitar and sitting at the piano awakened something, and Ellis likens the musical experience to being behind the wheel of “a rock solid fucking muscle car.” It’s a heavy thing, with beautiful lines. Ellis describes the Texas Piano Man as the guy who wears the tuxedo everywhere. If there’s a ribbon to be cut, he’s there. A groundbreaking? He’ll hold the shovel and deal with the dirty suit later. He’ll christen your ship, and he won’t judge your yacht rock.
This summer Robert Ellis will join EELS º on a number of shows across Europe to be followed by a full band headlining tour in the fall:
19/08: Nottingham, UK - Rock City º
20/08: Southampton, UK - O2 Guildhall º
21/08: London, UK - Hammersmith Eventim Apollo º
25/08: Leipzig, DE - Haus Auensee º
27/08: Copenhagen, DK - The Grey Hall º
28/08: Oslo, NO - Rockefeller º
29/08: Stockholm, SWE - Debaser Medis º
19/10: Utrecht, NL - Ramblin' Roots
22/10: Liverpool, UK - Phase One
23/10: Glasgow, UK - The Blue Arrow
24/10: Newcastle, UK - The Cluny 2
25/10: London, UK - The Lexington
28/10: Copenhagen, DK - Ideal Bar
29/10: Oslo, NO - John Dee
30/10: Göteborg, SWE - Pustervik/Oceanen
31/10: Stockholm, SWE - Bryggarsalen
01/11: Malmö, SWE - Folk å Rock
02/11: Groningen, NL - Take Root
03/11: Leuven, BE - 30CC
º w/ EELS