The Arts and Humanities Council of Tuscaloosa County will present blues guitarist/vocalist Tinsley Ellis in concert on February 17, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.  The performance will take place at the Bama Theatre, 600 Greensboro Ave., in downtown Tuscaloosa.

Seating is general, and tickets, which are FREE prior to the day of the performance, are required to attend.  Tickets are available to pick up at the Tuscaloosa locations of Little Willie’s, Fitts Agency, Inc., Summersell Center for the Study of the South – UA History Dept, The Bank of Tuscaloosa (Main Branch), Manna Grocery and Deli, The University of Alabama Honors College Assembly and WSV Architects.

Tickets will also be available for sale at the Bama Theatre box office the evening of the concert for a cost of $10.

Call the Arts and Humanities Council of Tuscaloosa County at 205-758-5195, visit www.tuscarts.org or join the Council on Facebook and Twitter for more information about this and other events.

Hard-rocking blues-soaked guitarist/vocalist/song-writer Tinsley Ellis sings and plays with the energy and soul of all the great Southern musicians who have come before him. Ellis attacks his music with rock power and blues feeling, following in the tradition of his Deep South musical heroes Duane Allman, Freddie King, Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes.  His live shows feature extended fretwork filled with melodic and rhythmic experimentation in the spirit of jam bands like his friends Widespread Panic and The Allman Brothers.  Atlanta Magazine declared Ellis “the most significant blues artist to emerge from Atlanta since Blind Willie McTell.”

Since first hitting the national scene with his Alligator Records debut, Georgia Blue in 1988, Ellis has toured non-stop and continued to release one critically acclaimed album after another.  His stellar guitar work, always a staple of his live shows and CDs, is matched by his strong songwriting and powerful, soulful vocals.  Tinsley’s hometown paper, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, calls his music, “a potent, amazing trip through electric blues-rock.”

Ellis has played in all 50 states, as well as Canada, Europe, Australia and South America.  Whether he’s out with his own band or sharing stages with The Allman Brothers, Robert Cray, Koko Taylor or Widespread Panic, he averages over 150 performances a year, bringing his fast-moving, high-energy, guitar-drenched performances to fans all over the world.   He is recorded on the Alligator Records label.