Quick Facts
Biography
Lindsay Elizabeth Ell (born 20 March 1989) is a Canadian country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Calgary, Alberta. Her music incorporates elements of rock, blues and pop within the country genre.She is signed to the US record label Stoney Creek Records, an imprint of Broken Bow Records. Her debut extended play, Worth the Wait, was released in March 2017. Her first full length country album, The Project, was released in August 2017 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Album Sales chart.
Early life
Lindsay Ell was born in Calgary. She started playing the piano at six, until she discovered her father's collection of guitars scattered throughout the house, switching at age eight; "I fell in love with the guitar," says Lindsay. "It's a huge part of who I am." Lindsay fell in love with the blues and started songwriting at age 10. Ell was valedictorian for her class at Bishop Carroll High School (Calgary, Alberta), from which she graduated a year early. She went on to study business at the University of Calgary and music at the Berklee College of Music, in addition to pursuing her music career.
Career
Randy Bachman discovered Ell when she was only 15 years old. Bachman described her as "the most talented and multi-faceted artist I've come across in many years". Bachman co-wrote and produced her first album Consider This. It was recorded at Bachman's studio on Saltspring Island, and Ell herself co-wrote most of the 11 songs. The album was released in 2006 on Bachman's record label Ranbach Music and distributed by Fontana North. Ell toured with blues guitarist Buddy Guy in 2008. On her 2009 album, Alone, she moved to a more acoustic sound compared to her debut.
It was her first songwriting trip to Nashville that brought her full circle to her country roots. She travelled back and forth from Calgary to Nashville for a couple years to participate in songwriting sessions while playing as many live shows as she could to hone her craft. At the age of 21, she permanently moved to Nashville and signed with the US-based record label Stoney Creek Records.
In December 2013, her first official single, "Trippin' on Us", debuted as the most added song for country music radio in both Canada and the United States with over 50 first week adds. Ell has since been called "a true triple threat" by Guitar World; "a star in the making" by Taste of Country and "a distinct figure in the modern country recording camp" by Country Weekly.
Lindsay is a guitarist whose style has been influenced by John Mayer, Keith Urban, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Tommy Emmanuel, Chet Atkins, Buddy Guy, Randy Bachman, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. She typically plays a custom Les Paul Goddess and Martin acoustic guitars. She is an official Martin Guitar artist.
Lindsay made her Grand Ole Opry debut on 15 April 2014 and has since made several appearances on the show.
On March 24, 2017, Lindsay released her debut EP, Worth the Wait, featuring six songs, one of which is a cover of John Mayer's "Stop This Train." "Worth the Wait shows off Ell’s talent in all capacities, as a guitarist, vocalist and songwriter," wrote Sounds Like Nashville in a review of the project.
On 28 January 2018, Lindsay sang the Canadian National Anthem at the 2018 NHL All-Star Game. In March 2018, she performed at the C2C: Country to Country festival in the UK.
Tours
- We Are Pioneers World Tour (2013/2014) – supporting The Band Perry
- CMT Next Women of Country Tour (2016) – supporting Jennifer Nettles
- Life Amplified World Tour (2017) – supporting Brad Paisley
- Weekend Warrior World Tour (2017/2018) – supporting Brad Paisley
- Still the Same Tour (2018) - supporting Sugarland
- Graffiti U World Tour (2018) – supporting Keith Urban
- Monster Energy Outbreak Tour (2018/2019) - headlining
Lindsay Ell was selected by The Band Perry to open for their "We Are Pioneers World Tour" which included 50 dates throughout Europe and North America during 2013 and 2014. She has also supported tours with Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, Buddy Guy, Big & Rich, Gretchen Wilson, Ronnie Dunn, Paul Brandt and Chris Isaak.
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Country | US Indie | ||||
| Consider This |
| — | — | — | ||
| Alone |
| — | — | — | ||
| The Project |
| 40 | 4 | 1 |
| |
| The Continuum Project |
| — | — | 28 |
| |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||
Extended plays
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Sales | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Country | US Indie | |||
| Worth the Wait |
| 139 | 28 | 7 |
|
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN Country | CAN | US Country Songs | US Country Airplay | US | |||
| 2013 | "Trippin' on Us" | 14 | 95 | — | 46 | — | Non-album singles |
| 2014 | "Pickup Truck" | 25 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Shut Me Up" | 23 | — | — | 47 | — | ||
| 2015 | "By the Way" | 14 | — | — | 44 | — | |
| 2016 | "All Alright" | 9 | — | — | — | — | |
| 2017 | "Waiting on You" | 4 | — | — | 42 | — | The Project |
| "Criminal" | 1 | — | 28 | 19 | — | ||
| 2018 | "Champagne" | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2019 | "What Happens in a Small Town" (with Brantley Gilbert) | 15 | — | 7 | 1 | 53 | Fire and Brimstone |
| "I Don't Love You" | 6 | — | — | 48 | — | TBA | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||
As a featured artist
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN Country | ||||||
| 2018 | "The Worst Kind" (Tim Hicks featuring Lindsay Ell) | 17 | New Tattoo | |||
| "Bittersweet" (Paul Brandt featuring Lindsay Ell) | 16 | The Journey BNA: Vol. 2 | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||
Promotional singles
| Year | Single | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | "Good" | The Project |
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | "Trippin' On Us" | Roman White | |
| 2015 | "By the Way" | Desmond Desmarais | |
| 2017 | "Waiting on You" | Peter Zavadil | |
| 2018 | "Criminal" | ||
| "I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You)" | Brian Vaughan | ||
| "Dreaming with a Broken Heart" | |||
| 2019 | "What Happens in a Small Town" | Shaun Silva |
Other appearances
| Title | Year | Artist | Album | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Abandon Ship" | 2008 | Jonathan Li | If You Thought You Knew | |
| "Netflix Love Song" | 2016 | Bobby Bones and the Raging Idiots | The Critics Give It 5 Stars | |
| "Horses" | 2018 | Keith Urban | Graffiti U | |
| "The Worst Kind" | Tim Hicks | New Tattoo | ||
| "Stumble Home" | The Vamps | Night & Day (Day Edition: Extra Tracks) |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award show | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Canadian Country Music Association | Rising Star | Lindsay Ell | Nominated | |
| All Star Band - Guitar | N/A | Nominated | |||
| 2015 | Rising Star | Lindsay Ell | Nominated | ||
| Association of Country Music in Alberta | Female Artist of the Year | Lindsay Ell | Won | ||
| 2016 | CMT Music Awards | Social Superstar | Lindsay Ell | Nominated | |
| Canadian Country Music Association | Female Artist of the Year | Lindsay Ell | Nominated | ||
| 2017 | Lindsay Ell | Nominated | |||
| 2018 | Canadian Country Music Association | Female Artist of the Year | Lindsay Ell | Nominated | |
| Album of the Year | The Project | Nominated | |||
| 2019 | ACM Awards | New Female Artist of the Year | Lindsay Ell | Nominated | |
| CMT Music Awards | Collaborative Video of the Year | "What Happens In A Small Town" | Nominated | ||
| Canadian Country Music Association | Female Artist of the Year | Lindsay Ell | Nominated | ||
| Interactive Artist of the Year | Won | ||||
| Single of the Year | "Criminal" | Nominated | |||
| Video of the Year | Nominated |
