John Elliott is a singer/songcyclist equally inspired by Bruce Springsteen and Eminem, Bob Dylan and Guns N’ Roses, Tom Petty and Queen. Born and raised in the suburban plains of Minnesota, he started guitar lessons at the mall when he was seven and wrote his first song when he was fifteen – music lifted directly from Aerosmith’s “Dream On” with original lyrics about nuclear war. John’s lyrics have always had a social conscience and a dark aspect.

Anaïs Mitchell invited him to play the role of Hades in the California tour of Hadestown. He moved to The Bay Area. He bought a $150 used bicycle on Craig’s List and became a singer/songcyclist. He has performed in every state in the union except for Hawaii. John had big plans for 2020… instead, he played shows in the corner of his apartment in front of his computer.

John has performed as John August, John Dease, John Arthur, John Flynn, John Wyatt, and more, finally settling on John Elliott because his dementia-suffering grandmother saw E.T. with him when he was a boy and got him confused with the kid from the movie. Two Ls and two Ts.

He’s been around long enough to have music industry people tell him that what mattered most was MySpace plays. Then it was getting 3,000 likes on your Facebook music page. Then it was Spotify plays. He’s been likened to artists from Paul Simon to Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard, and called “the Andy Kaufman of folk music.” His songs have been prominently heard on Grey’s Anatomy, One Tree Hill, and Californication. He’s been featured in PASTE Magazine and NPR. And now he’s playing Stage 33 Live.

Futhermore, he’s playing with Dylan Patrick Ward, folk misfit for our absurd times – equal parts compassionate and irreverent, his songs use catchy melodies and blunt, storytelling lyricism to weave tales of outcasts, loveable losers, and people on the brink. His empathy and candor have drawn comparisons to the Mountain Goats, John Prine, and Randy Newman. A songwriter’s songwriter, he’s shared the stage with acts like Peter Mulvey, The End of America, Jeffery Lewis, and Cloudbelly.

www.thehereafterishere.com
www.dylanpatrickward.com

Stage 33 Live is a casual and intimate industrial-rustic listening room in a former factory hosting local, regional, and national performances and presentations of original material. No bar or kitchen, the stage is the mission; coffee / soda / juice / water and a variety of snacks are available by donation. More info about the nonprofit, all-volunteer project, and this and other upcoming events, online at stage33live.com

Stage 33 Live gratefully acknowledges the help of so many individuals without whom none of this would be happening, and institutional support this season from The Island Corporation, the Vermont Arts Council, the Bellows Falls Opera House, the Rockingham Arts & Museum Project, and WOOL-FM that helped fund improvements and maintenance, and generally smooth out a lot of the rough edges. Stage 33 Live is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, and all donations are deductible to the fullest extent. Volunteers run the thing from stem to stern.