11/03/2023
Almost a year ago, February 20th, 2023, to be exact, I was recording an episode of The Wallace Horn Friendly Neighbor Show in Huntington, WV with Jeff and Victoria Bosley, when Jeff asked me if I’d ever considered recording a solo, acoustic album. No accompaniment, no studio magic, just me, my guitar, a harmonica or two, and my songs...
That conversation led me to Jeff’s home studio on April 12th, where I plowed through 14 original songs in front of a pair of Neumann KM140s, a Shure VP88, and a vintage RCA 77DX ribbon mic. Over the next few weeks of listening, I whittled the 14 songs down to 7 that I thought would make for a good folk album. My full-band rock album, “Vacancy Hearts,” was already on deck to be released, so I decided to sit on “Folk Show” until the fall.
“Vacancy Hearts” came out on August 4th and is now streaming everywhere (go listen to it if you haven’t!!!), but now the time has finally come, and “Folk Show” will be available for streaming and download everywhere tonight at midnight! It’s a collection of raw, honest, acoustic songs, like you’d hear around a campfire or in the corner of a coffeehouse somewhere in southern West Virginia. I’m proud of the songs and I’m glad I listened to Jeff’s advice (and Jonah Carden’s!) and decided to release it. I hope you’ll check it out and share it with your folk-loving friends!
Finally, and few thank you’s and credits:
Folk Show (live and unplugged from Mirkwood Holler / Branchland, WV, recorded April 12th, 2023)
Recorded, engineered, and mixed by Jeff Bosley
Mastered by Jonah Carden
Cover photo by Jeremy Burns BurnsExposures Photography, LLC
Album design and layout by Jimbo Valentine
All songs written by Jeff Ellis
Special thanks to Matt Mullins and The Song Machine for providing the prompts for several of these songs. I wouldn’t have written them without your group and gentle deadline reminders!
Finally, thanks to all of you who’ve bought a CD or a t-shirt, streamed my music, attended a show, shared my songs, or just offered a kind word of encouragement. I appreciate all of you!