Show Announcement: C'Mon Everybody on January 31st

Hey folks! Excited to announce that the fellas and I will be closing out the first month of Trump's presidency with a healthy does of positivity and protest music! Come out to the show next Tuesday at C'Mon Everybody. I'll be donating my ticket sales to The Women Worldwide Initiative! Resist with your dancing shoes and your dollars! 

Get your tickets in advance for $8 and at the door for $10! 

Also throwing a Pop-Up Polariod Party,  so dress to impress! Our resident part-time photog Missy Robles with be shooting all night. 

#ELLEWINSTONLIVE

Billboard Lounge Recap

November ended with quite a whirl, thus this post is long overdue - forgive me! That being said, for those of you who've been following me on my socials, you've seen some of these snippets, but thought it might be fun to compile them and recap the amazing night that was November 20th! 

The day started with some uplifting texts from the parents and some goofing around back stage...

behind dem scenes. #billboardlounge #ellewinstonlive #heavynow

A photo posted by Elle Winston (@ellewinston) on

After a sound check and interview with the Barclays Center social media team, it was time to perform the National Anthem for the Brooklyn Nets game. This was an incredible experience. It felt so timely given the outcome of this election, to be a young, black woman singing my nation's anthem. Very proud! 

Post-game myself and my incredible band members took the stage for a super fun upbeat performance! We kicked it off with an Alicia Keys cover, three songs from my new album, an Alabama Shakes cover and ended with a tribute to Ms. Sharon Jones (RIP)! 

After the show, we had a great party and celebrated the night! So many friends and colleagues in the building - overwhelmingly beautiful and inspiring! 

Granted my opinion on the show is admittedly biased, but Kenneth Patridge of Billboard Online gave us a great write up that made me so proud. (click below)

As always, I have a laundry list of thanks, so bear with me...

- My whole Barclays Center team/family for continuing to give me great opportunities and give me a platform for my passion! 

- My entire band for bringing it every single the time and supporting this music! 

- My wife, friends and family for being there, celebrating with me and always making me laugh when I make a fool of myself! Lol 

- Finally to everyone who came to the show and brought there openness and energy. It was a pleasure to see and be seen by you. 

Note: Performance photos by Elliot Ashby.

Heavy Now + Billboard Lounge

YO!!!! Today's the day. Thrilled today to share the first single HEAVY NOW from my forthcoming album. Man, this has been a longtime in the making, but so worth the wait! 

Little bit about this tune... The music for this track was produced by Dennis Coronel aka dcsoulplusmind. When I originally wrote the music & lyrics for this song, I had been in NYC for a couple of years and still struggling to make ends meet. I was thinking about the way that people kept telling me how great I was doing, but I didn't feel that way inside. I felt overwhelmed and strapped for cash. Great combination - ha! 

My band and I have been performing this tune live for awhile now and it has taken on a life of it's own. As we sit here, with a new president, I'm realizing that this song is a lot less literally than it originally was in my mind. It's about being defeated. It's about feeling tired and exasperated. It's about the debt we pay to be here and how we must continue to stand up, even when we're knocked down. It's heavy now, but not always

Thank you to DC for collaborating with me on this and for my band for making this track come alive in a whole new way. 

Band: Granville Mullings Jr. (drums + percussion), Julian Litwack (guitar), Todd Martino (keys) and Alex Smith (bass). Mixed by Chris McLaughlin. Mastered by Mike LaTona. 

SING IT. SHARE IT. BUY IT.  

This Sunday we are celebrating the single release and my coming birthday (Monday) with a  performance in the Billboard Lounge at Barclays Center after the Nets vs. Trailblazers game. Also excited to be singing the national anthem for the game! See you there. 

Mile of Music Festival Full Recap

This past weekend I had the privilege of playing the amazing Mile of Music Festival in Appleton, WI. I have a lot to say about this experience, so this is going to be a long post - hold on to your butts! 

An Impromtu Meeting-

After an impromptu "calling singers to the stage" moment during Cory Chisel's & Jon Wheelock's set at The Sh*tty Barn in Spring Green, WI earlier this summer, Cory graciously invited me to play the festival... hell yes, I said!  

ON THE GROUND-

The road to the fest was a little nontraditional. My band wasn't coming, but I was lucky enough to be linked with two great Wisconsin musicians Jason Bank (guitar) and Jay Spanbauer (drums). They learned my music in a very short window and next thing I knew, we were playing our first set.

Thursday evening at the Appleton Beer Factory we performed for the warmest, most generous audience! There was some serious magic in the room - granted, there were quite a few beers being consume. Felt like we were in for a great weekend together. 

THE REFUGE-

After that first set, we went on to play two lovely shows on Friday. Melissa and I also had a chance to catch performances by Hubby Jenkins and Keenan O'Meara, both of which thoroughly wowed and inspired us! 

In addition to listening to great shows, we spent some time enjoying The Refuge where we stayed. Cozied up on 10 acres along the Fox River, The Refuge, a former monastery on Menominee land, now serves as a place for artists and travelers alike to rest, write and record. I can attest to the acoustics in the chapel - perfection!  

LAST HOORAH- 

Our last show was at the Lawrence Memorial Chapel and it was one for the books. Probably one of the most amazing places I've ever sang and listened - it's not bad on the eyes either! There was a spirit in the place that connected all of us. Jason, Jay and I received a standing ovation after our set and it almost brought me to tears! 

IT's A WRAP- 

Spent the rest of the evening at the bar with Keith and Ben who showed us a hell of a time! Miss you guys already. We packed our bags the next morning, said a prayer along the river, said our goodbyes to Cory and Kurt (another amazing fest founder) and hit the highway headed to Chicago. 

Reflecting on this weekend, I think it was the highlight of our summer! Melissa and I entered into this adventure as teammates and we both worked so hard to make it a success. Her support, her talent (she made ALL the merch), her positivity, her honesty, her jokes, her spirit, I could go on forever. It was such an amazing lesson in partnership and friendship and I'm lucky to have done it with her. 

To every organizer, performer, volunteer, festival attendee - you all were some of the most genuine and supportive folks I've ever encountered. Appleton and the larger Wisconsin community you thoroughly charmed me - to say the least - and I've taken that spirit back with me to NYC!

Thank you. 

*all photos by Melissa Robles