Ellis comes alive again

Ellis comes alive again

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 It was a night to remember last Thursday in downtown Philadelphia.

The long anticipated reopening of the Ellis Theater, the centerpiece of Marty Stuart’s Congress of Country, certainly did not disappoint the large crowd gathered.

The Ellis marked Phase I of the $40 million project. Funding efforts for the next phase to purchase Stuart’s large collection of memorabilia will continue.

Stuart, a Philadelphia native and a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, plans to have a museum and education center that will house his huge collection of Country Music artifacts. Proponents envision shows and performances at the Ellis.

“Not since the advent of electricity at the Neshoba Country Fair has there been so much excitement in the air,” Stuart said during his talk, quoting former former state Sen. Giles Ward of Louisville, an early supporter of the project. “Philadelphia isn’t getting ready, it is ready.”

 There was a parade to start the celebration, followed by a ribbon cutting. There were speakers. National Guard helicopters flew over. Stuart and his wife, Connie, and others joined in the Choctaw Indian native dancing. It was a community coming together for the big night, many observers agreed.

The event drew people from all over the country. Fans came from as far away as Wisconsin, Texas, California, Kentucky, Florida Nashville and across the Southeast. There were Marty Stuart fans who traveled from Germany to be here.

Stuart said everywhere he goes, people are talking about the Congress of Country Music here in Philadelphia.

“We do VIP sessions on the road a lot of days each week,” Stuart said. “My band can tell you every single day, people want to know what’s up with the Congress of Country Music. Not just across the nation but we have toured six foreign countries this year and it’s the same thing. One of the first things I saw when we got to England was a Congress of Country Music t-shirt. Believe me, the word is out.”

That feeling was shared. Stuart and his band, the Fabulous Superlatives, opened the house Thursday for two shows before adoring crowds.

Ricky Skaggs, who came a day early to attend the grand opening, performed on Friday night, followed by Vince Gill Saturday night and The Bill Gaither Vocal Band on Sunday afternoon. Each day, local singers, groups and choirs performed in a tent across the street from the Ellis Theater.

“The community really responded,” said Congress of Country Music Executive Director Dan Barnard. “This was as good an opening as we could have gotten. We had a good product to sell because Marty loaded us up with big time acts. The committee that set everything up, it worked beautifully.”

               Philadelphia native and longtime Nashville music executive Marty Gamblin emceed the program.

               “I have been with this project for a while and I have been blown away with what is going on here,” Gamblin said. “To see the reviving that is going on around here as the result of this project and others is overwhelming and encouraging.”

               Once inside the Ellis, people seemed impressed with what they saw.

“This weekend was nothing short of amazing,” Philadelphia’s Carly Byars Rounsaville said on Facebook. “From a thrilling opening night with Marty to an intimate acoustic concert with Vince Gill last night, I still almost cannot believe it took place in Philadelphia.

“I have watched this project unfold over the last 18 months, I’ve developed a friendship with Marty Stuart that in turn changed the course of my life, and I’ve watched a new pride and love for Philadelphia develop in so many people. 

“The Ellis Theatre is absolutely stunning, and I cannot wait to see what’s in store for our entire community going forward.”

People who came from out of town were impressed as well.

               “We heard about this at the late night jam with Marty back in June,” said Rachel Rowland of Nashville. “We wanted to come down and check out. We are big Marty Stuart fans.

               “This is amazing. We used to live in Chicago and I will tell you, some of the old theaters, this is more beautiful. The way they have renovated it and the lighting, it is really amazing,” Rowland said. “We told all of our neighbors we were coming and they were super jealous.”






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