Tinsley Ellis coming to New Mexico with a duo of acoustic performances

Feb. 23—Tinsley Ellis learned a lot about himself by not touring for two years.

While he had forgotten how nice it was to stay at home, the blues guitarist was able to work on his songwriting skills during his time off the road.

To get back to his musical roots, he began composing on amps and guitars that he hadn't used for decades. He explored obscure studio and live recordings from some of his greatest musical heroes, such as the Allman Brothers, Freddie King, Michael Bloomfield, B.B. King and beyond, and was inspired by his favorite artists all over again.

"It was nice not to have a deadline," he says. "I wrote about 200 songs during that 18 months. It was a creative breakthrough."

Ellis released the album, "Devil May Care," in Jan. 2022, which is his 20th full-length studio album.

He is currently on a special acoustic tour across the country. He will perform twice in New Mexico — at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, at The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing in Santa Fe, and then at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27, at Fusion 708, in Albuquerque.

Ellis says his previous tours have had an acoustic portion to the set. This tour is completely Ellis and his guitars.

"This is the full extension of the acoustic show," he says. "It's fun to talk about how I wrote the songs. I do some quirky covers like a few from Gregg Allman and Bob Dylan. I even throw ins some Delta blues. (The set) is a mixture of those things."

Ellis says being on stage alone with only his guitars, is freeing because he's able to turn on a dime.

"With a band, you have to work with a specific set," he says. "I'm able to feel out what the audience likes and compose my set to the audience. I'm going to be doing this for 64 shows and I'm excited for audiences to be seeing a different side of myself."

Prior to the beginning of his tour, Ellis performed at Capricorn Studios in Macon, Georgia.

"I pulled out songs that had been recorded at the studio," he says. "The set gave people a warm and fuzzy feeling. It added more fuel to the fire for this tour."

Ellis says during the two years away from touring, he learned a lot of technical aspects to his writing process.

"I learned that I'm a journeyman type of writer," he says. "I've found that many of the best songs are written in a day. It just flows out of you and I had many songs do that during the process."

Ellis knows that his current tour is special.

"I would have never imagined myself doing a show like this when I was 20 years old," he says. "I never thought it would be some kind of blues rock conversations. I've been told my fans that they are enjoying taking part in the show. It's all stream of consciousness for me. This is a different dimension to not only myself, but the music."

Tinsley Ellis

WHEN AND WHERE: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing, 37 Fire Place, Santa Fe; 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27, Fusion 708, 708 First St. NW

HOW MUCH: $23 advance, $28 day of show, plus fees, at ampconcerts.org for Santa Fe show; $27 advance, $32, plus fees, at ampconcerts.org for Albuquerque show