Ellie Mae & Big Bill have been performing together since 1995 and have played in a variety of venues, such as restaurants, pubs, coffee houses, outdoor events, blues festivals and private parties.

Ellie Mae Higgins, a fingerpicking guitarist and singer, has been performing professionally since 1982 and has played in many clubs and coffeehouses in the Boston/Cambridge area. She studied under Grammy Award winning blues guitarist Paul Rishell and was heavily influenced by Blind Boy Fuller, Mance Lipscomb, and (her favorite) Memphis Minnie.

In 1995 Ellie Mae met Bill Reidy, a slide guitarist and singer, who had been playing in various bands for 20 years, and together they formed an electric blues and R&B band (Highway 61) along with an acoustic blues trio (The Jukestompers). They played extensively in clubs and coffeehouses in Boston area, including The House of Blues, The Tam, Gilreins, and The Yard Rock Blues Club as well as The North River Blues Festival and the Plymouth Waterfront Festival. And in 1999, the duo recorded their first CD.

In the past few years, they have have expanded their act to include not only vintage blues, but also oldies, country, swing, standards, and old time gospel music. In 2000, the duo moved to the Southcoast and have been performing locally at various restaurants, coffeehouses and events.

In 2005, El and Bill began hosting house concerts, known as Club 90 Blues Cafe, which features some of the best local talent in the area. In 2009 Ellie Mae & Big Bill released their second CD, “Searchin’ For The Blues”, which includes songs of Bessie Smith, Tampa Red, Muddy Waters and some originals written by Ellie Mae.

She Put Me Outdoors

Come and Go With Me

Good Like That

Barnyard Dance