Ellis Kell Benefit Packing The RME With Amazing Music
What do you say when someone passes away? How do you celebrate their life and everything they did? How do you help their grieving family members and friends? Ellis Kell was a beloved musician in the Quad Cities who inspired many people with his music. To honor him and his life, the Quad Cities will be celebrating and remembering what he gave to the community.
On Saturday, January 21 at 4:00 p.m. till 11:00 p.m., The River Music Experience will be holding a benefit concert for his family in the Great Hall of the RiverCenter titled “Peace, Love & the Joy of Music: Ellis Kell Family Benefit Concert.” The RiverCenter is located at 136 E 3rd St. in Davenport. The suggested donation is listed at $10. Come and listen to live music and remember Ellis’s legacy. Advance ticket sales are available till January 20 at 5:00 p.m. and donations can be made at the event through silent auctions, a 50/50 raffle, poster sales, and more. You can purchase tickets at https://midwestix.securemytix.com/event/ellis-kell-family-benefit-concert. You can contact Lauren Crew for donation inquiries at (563) 823-2693 or lcrew@quadcitieschamber.com. For Volunteer inquiries, please contact Kate Dale at (563) 326-1333 ext. 101 or kbenson@rivermusicexperience.org.
The lineup for Ellis’s concert is as follows: David G. Smith at 4:00 p.m., The Candymakers at 4:20 p.m., Lojo Russo at 4:55 p.m., The Velies at 5:20 p.m., RME Camp Kids Jam at 5:45 p.m., an intermission will be held from 6:30 till 6:40. The Whoozdads will resume the concert at 6:40 p.m., followed by The Way Down Wanderers at 7:30 p.m., The Ellis Kell Band at 8:20 p.m. Ernie Peniston, Hai Reed & The Curtis Hawkins Band will play together at 9:10 p.m., Rude Punch & Firesale (Mashup) will play at 9:45 p.m., and the Quad Cities Blues Mafia will close at 10:20 p.m.
Ellis Kell spent his whole life in the Quad Cities. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from Augustana College and was one of the creators of QC Online. He was also the Director of Programming and Community Outreach for the River Music Experience. He was known for providing great music and mentoring young musicians for many years. To hear some of Ellis’s music, you can check out his episode for RME Originals on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5FK3upSW3g.
