Ellie Rui 瑞: DayDreams Are Encouraged LIVE

Date: Friday, May 22nd, 2026

Doors: 5:00PM to Venue | 6:30PM to Sanctuary

Showtime: 7:00PM

Tickets: Early Bird - $15 (+$4.57 fees, including tax) | General Admission - $20 (+$4.72 fees, including tax)

‘Service charges apply to ALL ticket purchases (online and box office)’ - Credit card only at door

About:

Ellie Rui 瑞 is a Chicago-based Jazz drummer from Columbus, Ohio. She moved to Chicago shortly after graduating from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in the Spring of 2024. At Oberlin, Rui 瑞 studied with NEA Jazz Master Billy Hart for all 4 years.

Ellie Rui 瑞 is releasing her debut album, DayDreams Are Encouraged, the spring on May 19th. Rui 瑞 began writing DayDreams Are Encouraged in the summer of 2022 and recorded it here in Chicago in June 2025. The album was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Klara Carrera, with cover art by Francesca Neibel-Spruill. In addition to Rui 瑞, it features musicians Chemutai Ruto, Takeru Satoh, J Renee, Anokyewaa Oppong, Rahsaan Nance, Aidan Marco, Francesca Neibel-Spruill, and Will Feeney. The album attempts to convey Rui 瑞’s experiences growing up with ADHD and OCD in a neurotypical world. It is a celebration of different ways of thinking. Rui 瑞’s compositions are typically characterized by a percussive approach, even when she is writing for other instruments. She generally follows a “jazz form” but her chord changes and rhythms are intentionally non-standard. For example, on the album’s first track, “DayDreamer,” Rui 瑞 utilizes different time signatures and feels to illustrate the multidirectional pull of ADHD—the constant diversion but also the thrill of new ideas. In the 6th track, “For This Moment”, Rui 瑞 conveys her experience with OCD, especially the push and pull of her mind and the struggle to stay present in the moment. The piece begins with a melodic motif that, as each instrument enters, gets offset by a half note. This creates a layered “sound collage” meant to approximate the disruptions caused by intrusive thought patterns. The album utilizes many different musical, lyrical, and compositional techniques, all in the service of conveying the feelings of a young person who doesn’t think in a standard way but who nonetheless manages to turn out OK.

Notable recent performances and projects by Rui 瑞 include recording with Pulitzer Prize winner Susie Ibarra, as a member of Ibarra’s CHAN Percussion Ensemble; playing with Colin Heshmat and Emma Dayhuff at Merriman’s Playhouse in South Bend, IN; playing with her own group “The Ellie Rui 瑞 Ensemble” at venues such as The Epiphany Center For the Arts, The Whistler, Clara, and Prairie Moon; playing with Chicago-based artist Elysia Marie as a member of her band; playing music at Holy Ground Sessions at Healthy Hood Chicago; playing with the Karli Bunn Ensemble in Birch Creek, WI; and doing a feature set with “The Ellie Rui 瑞 Ensemble” for Millie Ahearn’s Jam Session at Clara. In her performances, she often shares parts of her life story in the hope of bringing people together. Rui 瑞 likes to be around musicians and other people that remind her of the kind of human being she wants to be.

Golden Hour at Epiphany:

Stop by Epiphany for our live music series concerts, and be sure to hit Golden Hour before-hand for drinks and lite-bites! Doors open at 5pm Thursday - Saturday for Golden Hour with 1/2 priced bottles of wine and other specials!

Come early to EXPLORE and DISCOVER your own EPIPHANY… our art galleries are open and there is free entertainment before the show!

Please note that outside food or beverages are not permitted in the venue.