Ellen McIlwaine played the Woodstock Sound-Outs during the late sixties with her group Fear Itself. Larry Packer relates in Roots of the 1969 Woodstock Festival: The Backstory to “Woodstock” that he once saw Ellen give a “Janis Joplin-like” performance. After McIlwaine left Fear Itself, she achieved cult status with her Polydor albums of Honky Tonk Angel and We the People. Over a 40-year career, Ellen McIlwaine has toured the world and worked with musicians like David Sanborn, Van Morrison, Link Wray, Rory Gallagher, John McLaughlin, Roy Buchanan, Jack Bruce, Taj Mahal, and Cassius Khan. Needless to say, we’re very excited to have Ellen appear at the Roots gig at the Bearsville Theater on August 15. Here is a link to Ellen playing “Jimmy Jean” from her We the People album: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzHUU9Lj5u0.

~ Weston Blelock