Press release –
Award-winning Toronto singer-songwriter and extraordinary storyteller Tyler Ellis has crafted a new single, “Union Song,” that serves as a tonic for our troubled times. It’s the first single from his ninth album to date, Hardwarestore, coming out in June. “Union Song” is out on April 24th and available on all major platforms.
A heartfelt anthem of unity in the face of division, with a small but powerful choir of voices emphasizing the point, “Union Song” channels the spirit of the late, great Woody Guthrie, as we face current times of hellish late-stage capitalism. As Ellis sings, “I got my brothers and my brothers got me, I got my sisters and my sisters got me,” he champions the idea that “there are no others, there’s just us,” people of “every shade and every hue.” He’s not only amplifying the idea of strength in numbers but pointing to a path forward for peace on a global scale.
“It’s not just about unions and protests,” says Ellis. “It’s about people in general coming together, and working side by side for the common good. In the end, we’re all brothers and sisters. who can stand together and help each other.”
Tyler Ellis has worn two musical hats for a long time. Two wonderful musical hats. On the one hand, a critically acclaimed, award-winning singer/songwriter; on the other, an award- winning music teacher. With the 2019 release of the double album, Well-Seasoned, and his more recent live album Greater-Than, Ellis confidently throws both hats into the ring. His wry, thoughtful songs about love and life in The Great White North comfortably rubbing shoulders with his songs about the seasons, Venn-Diagrams, and counting to ten.
Over the years, Tyler has shared a lot of music with a lot of people. Whether writing ditties for CBC Kids (Days of the week song); co-writing with The Julian Taylor Band; talking about music education on CBC Ideas (Ballad of the Tin Ears); presenting university lectures on the joy of singing (Bad Singer/Good Singer with author Tim Falconer); hosting the long running Riverboat Monday Open Stage; performing shows solo and with his band, The Eddy Line; his many years of conducting a 75+ member junior elementary choir; or, just working on his craft, for Tyler it’s always just music as usual.
