Sydney Ellis & her Midnight Preachers

Anyone who has had the pleasure of experiencing this bundle of energy would hardly believe she's a grandmother of seven... SYDNEY ELLIS takes the stage, raises her voice, and captivates the audience. With her warm, powerful voice and always a smile on her face, she passionately grooves through the realms of blues, soul, and jazz.

Sydney's singing career began in Los Angeles, the day after her 44th birthday, when she gathered all her nerve and climbed onto a session stage.

The dream came true - from then on, her singing grew into a passion for what Sydney calls her 'cultural heritage,' or 'African American folk music.' The rest of the world calls it 'blues, classic jazz, gospel, spirituals, New Orleans jazz & blues, R&B, Chicago blues, Kansas City blues.'

Whether it's called blues or jazz, whether it comes from Chicago or New Orleans or elsewhere... it comes from where Sydney comes from... and she always goes back home.

Since 1995, Sydney has performed more than 1,200 concerts in 27 countries, drawing on a repertoire of approximately 200 songs by approximately 50 different singers and artists, including Sydney Ellis hand + mic, Dinah Washington, Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Sippie Wallace, Ann Rabson, Bessie Smith, Jeannie Cheatham, John Lee Hooker, Elmore James, Muddy Waters, Big Joe Turner, ZZ Hill, Willie Dixon, Lou Rawls, Jay McShann, Earl Thomas, Louis Armstrong, Woody Herman, Delbert McClinton, Reverend Gary Davis, and many more!

The gratitude Sydney expresses daily is for the music and all the people who have come to see her over the years. Music has given her a passion that few people get to experience in their lives. The word 'happy' can't even begin to describe the feeling that music and the people who support her and her music have given her.