Quality Americana

The powerful chorus in “Look at You” by Canadian singer-songwriter Dennis Ellsworth keeps this single running through your head. It’s a throwback to the popular sounds from the 1980’s and alternative hits in the 1990’s that’s filled with emotion.

Look at You

Ellsworth wrote “Look at You” in an attempt to write a simple two-chord structure.. 

“The songs always sort of center around love, whether it’s lost love, or new love, or a new sense of love, it’s always in the songs that I write, at least in the language,” Ellsworth said. “I think the themes on this are dancing around me being a dad and how much I love it, and how much I love them. The compromises or the promises that you make, it all sort of comes back around to that stuff. It’s part memory, it’s part future, but it’s all love.” 

The theme follows a relationship that’s facing challenges, but the singer is committed to his partner through the hardships.

“It’s just about the hope that you’ve got to hold on to,” Ellsworth said. “Just don’t give up on what you’ve got.”

Prince Edward Island

Ellsworth is based out of Prince Edward Island on the east coast of Canada where he was raised. He took an interest in poetry in high school, and later used those influences to write songs. 

“Music was always around and my mom was an influence on me with the records that she had,” Ellsworth said. He went to college for a general arts program and joined a band that relocated to Toronto.

“I think it kind of gave me the confidence as a songwriter to be doing what I’m doing now,” Ellsworth said about performing with the band. 

Ellsworth left the world of being a chef for a full time career in music, though he still takes on some part time work locally to help out. He’s also been able to utilize the funding programs Canada offers to artists.

“I made a decision one day that I would quit whatever work I had and just go full steam ahead with music and just sort of trust that it was going to work,” Ellsworth said. “I just keep on plugging away.”

Being a singer-songwriter was not so popular when he decided to leave the band and come home to Prince Edward Island, and it took Ellsworth some time to find his confidence on stage without other players. 

“The way the world is for music, you don’t really need to live somewhere central anymore,” Ellsworth said, “you can just live wherever you want as long as you’re willing to travel out.” 

He tries to travel a few times a year, but stays close to home while raising two children. 

“The last six years it’s been pretty quiet,” Ellsworth said. “I think it just has to do with not wanting to be away from my children when the changes are happening, and also just being there to help.”

Finding Revenue for Art

Ellsworth released Hardcore Freewheelin’ to his fans on Bandcamp six months before a wider release on all streaming platforms, an idea he borrowed from fellow artist Damien Jurado. 

“Bandcamp sort of gave the writers and the indie artists a little bit more power back,” Ellsworth said, “to try to make a little bit of money instead of just putting music on the internet and watching everybody listen to it and not getting paid very much for it.” 

He’s considering offering his next release in a physical format even before an online release.

“That’s how I consume music,” Ellsworth said, “and I think that’s how the music that we all make is supported financially to benefit us.”  

It’s Ellsworth’s “fourteenth or fifteenth” album at 48 years old. 

“I’ve been at it for a while and I’ve had a few other projects that I’m counting in there as well,” Ellsworth said. “I’m pretty productive, you know. I don’t hit pause for very long, if at all.”

Television and Film

Ellsworth’s publisher has been instrumental in helping him create a royalty stream through television and films. 

“My passive income can help a lot on a month to month basis so I’m not solely relying on gigs,” Ellsworth said. “I diversified early so I’m seeing the benefits of that now.” 

His extensive catalog and luck of meeting a publisher at a songwriting camp have provided him with a lifelong friend and a way to keep the music alive.

“All those little things… you don’t think about them when you’re starting out in music,” Ellsworth said. “You think ‘ok I’m just going to play shows and make money and hopefully I sell my records.’ The records don’t really sell these days, you know, so you have to be resourceful.” 

Ellsworth’s music has been featured on Netflix as well as Canadian Broadcasting.

“I’m just grateful that somebody is out there taking the music that I’m writing and trying to find a home for it outside of radio, or some chart, those days are sort of over,” Ellsworth said.

Hardcore Freewheelin’

Ellsworth teamed up with Jim Bryson, a fellow Canadian songwriter in Ontario, to produce Hardcore Freewheelin.’

“These days I’ve been writing a lot about home life,” Ellsworth said. “What the world looks like on a big picture when you’re at home looking into your kid’s eyes trying to figure out what it’s going to be like for them. Sometimes it’s about my life when I was their age. Sometimes it’s about what it’s going to be like for them if we don’t (expletive) it all up.”

Support the Artist

Ellsworth has an international tour on the horizon, and a new batch of songs ready to record for next year.

Support the artist by streaming and purchasing Hardcore Freewheelin’ on Bandcamp.

More information about Dennis Ellsworth can be found here.

Subscribe with your email below for your Song of the Day.