Ellis Paul to sing at coffeehouse

MARBLEHEAD – Ellis Paul will be performing at Me and Thee Coffeehouse Friday, March 27.Opening for him will be Rebecca Loebe, a top emerging songwriter and an international artist.The coffeehouse, at 28 Mugaford St., is open from 7:30 to 11 p.m. Loebe will perform at 8 p.m., with Paul to follow around 8:45.Paul, who honors famed folk singer Woody Guthrie with a tattoo on his arm, has received 15 Boston Music Awards. At the invitation of Guthrie’s daughter, he wrote a song with the late singer’s unpublished lyrics, and was given an honorary citizenship to Okemah, Okla., Guthrie’s hometown.He grew up in a potato farming family in Maine, earned a track scholarship to Boston College and got his musical start at Boston’s open-mic scene while studying to be a social worker.Paul emerged out of the Boston music scene during a time when contemporary folk was beginning to come into the mainstream. It was a time and a place that nurtured some of the country’s top singer/songwriters like Martin Sexton, Patty Griffin and Dar Williams.Paul was one of its more memorable exponents who earned his place on the national map with 20-plus years of playing 150 to 200 shows annually. He has 19 releases, a documentary film, a book of poems/short stories and a children’s book project to his credit.His songs have been featured on Hollywood soundtracks in films such as: “Me, Myself & Irene,” “Shallow Hal” and “Hall Pass,” as well as TV shows and documentary films.He has performed on stages at the Newport Folk Festival, Carnegie Hall and clubs and coffeehouses all over the world.This year, Paul fan-funded his 19th release, “Chasing Beauty,” produced by Sugarland’s Kristian Bush.He was awarded an Honorary Degree from the University of Maine and inducted into the Maine Music Hall of Fame.