Tinsley Ellis

A hard-rocking, high-voltage blues guitarist, Tinsley Ellis was schooled in a variety of Southern musical styles, as evidenced by his 1988 debut, Georgia Blue. Ellis' playing style draws not only from fiery Texas bluesmen like Freddie King and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, but also from the soulful blues of B.B. King, the funky grit of Memphis soul, and numerous others. Subsequent albums, such as 1997's Fire It Up, showcased hopped-up originals alongside striking covers penned by everyone from Mickey Newbury to Magic Sam and Los Lobos. 2004's The Hard Way and 2013's Midnight Blue confirmed him to be a formidable instrumentalist with solid songwriting skills. Ellis presented Winning Hand in 2018 before reconvening with the same team of players for 2020's Ice Cream in Hell and 2022's The Devil May Care. In 2024, he issued his first-ever solo acoustic album, Naked Truth.