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Dennis Ellsworth started playing shows in his teens. Now, the father and husband is just months away from turning 50 years old, and he says he’s ready to take a bit of a break.
A longtime fixture of the Prince Edward Island music scene, Ellsworth has played packed shows over an array of genres while working with heavyweights of Canadian music.
But today, touring isn’t the same as it once was for the Island artist. Ellsworth said he wants to shift his focus to his young family, while remembering the good fortune he has had as a musician.
LISTEN | P.E.I. musician Dennis Ellsworth is ready for a long break:
Mainstreet PEI9:25P.E.I. musician Dennis Ellsworth is ready for a long break
Dennis Ellsworth is a staple on the P.E.I. music scene. He’s decided to take a step back from the spotlight, and has only a couple performances left. He joins us to talk about how difficult it will be to walk away.
“I have had TV, film, radio support … and I did quite well on the road for many years,” he told Mainstreet host Mitch Cormier.
“But I think overall I’ve seen diminishing returns, and I think I just want to be a dad and stay home, be a husband and … try to find a new way.”
Ellsworth says he remains ‘fully invested on a creative level’ and will continue to write music, but is ‘going to slow it way down.’ (Leigh Elliott/dennisellsworth.com)
But Ellsworth isn’t turning his back on music.
He still plans to take the stage with The Fabulously Rich, a popular Tragically Hip tribute band that saw its early beginnings in a collaboration between Ellsworth and iconic Canadian artist Gord Downie.
Then came what was meant to be a one-time show in Charlottetown in 2016, where the band performed at a fundraiser after the Hip frontman announced his cancer diagnosis.
Today, the Fabulously Rich continues to bring the Hip’s energy and dedication to telling Canadian stories.
“We’re a machine at this point. I never have to look at marketing anything for that group, I just have to know the words and the melodies to those great songs, and the performance comes naturally to me,” Ellsworth said.
“But when I’ve got to sing my catalogue, I’ve often found it hard to bridge the gap between what a studio record sounds like and what I do on stage.”
Ellsworth said he remains “fully invested on a creative level” and will continue to write music, but is “going to slow it way down.”
The Tragically Hip perform at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg in 2016. (Cliff Simpson/CBC)
“I’m just not interested in trying to attract anybody to a room these days to hear it live because it’s not even something that I want to do,” he said.
“I think I’ve been done with that side of it for a while, so it just took me some time to accept it or admit it to myself, and then find the door.”
Ellsworth also noted changes in expectations, writing in an email to CBC News of his “aversion to social media” and how it has become “an integral part of being an artist.”
“The idea that, as well as being the artist, I must weaken mystery by an expected regularity of ‘content,’ pushed to a void is a major deterrent,” he said.
“I’ve never liked this shift and my curiosity for retiring from it has lingered for a while. I’m not made for it and I’m getting to the point in my life where I don’t want to do things I don’t want to do, if I don’t have to.”
Ellsworth said he recently played his last show with the Love Junkies and, upon waking the next day, he “felt alright,” calling that final performance “one of the best ones that we’ve done in a while.”
Ellsworth will be performing at Trailside Music Hall on Nov. 13 and at the Harmony House Lounge on Nov. 27. (Alex Douglas)
Two more shows are slated to take place this fall for those hoping to see Ellsworth perform. He will take the stage at Trailside Music Hall on Nov. 13 and at the Harmony House Lounge on Nov. 27.
Ellsworth said he doesn’t “have anything grand planned” for the performances, calling them “no pressure” and reiterating he will still be involved with music.
“I have quite a few shows with the Fabulously Rich coming up, so I’ll be on stage,” he said.
“Just not with my songs.”