Eliza Blue

Artist Information

Biography

Eliza Blue writes and sings with a voice like water from a deep well, earthy, rich, sweet and clear. Trained as a classical violinist, Eliza grew up listening to folk and blues on her Fisher-Price record player, but had little vocal instruction. She took up the fiddle after falling in love with old timey music and soon began writing songs of her own. Guitar came next, and then mandolin and banjo. Her music regularly draws comparisons to Gillian Welch, for it’s homage to Appalachian roots, but the quality and timbre of her voice call to mind some of the great jazz vocalists. Since she began her songwriting career four years ago, Eliza has crossed the country many times, and averages over a 150 gigs a year. When not on the road she lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her two dogs, Lily and Micah.
*Some other stuff: Eliza has shared the stage recently with: Billy Bragg, The Watson Twins, Kelly Jo Phelps, Fiona McBain of Ollabelle, Anje Duvekot, and Natalia Zukerman. In addition, she fiddles and sings with several Minneapolis based groups.
Eliza’s music has appeared on the Audiophile’s Guide to TC music, sponsored by the Pioneer Press, Twin Town Records’ 10th anniversary compilation, and Rift Magazine’s 2007 compilation album. She has been a featured performer at this spring’s Campfire Festival at Club Passim, the National Music Museum, 2007-2009 Stone Arch Bridge Festival, 2007-2009 Hamline Avenue Folk Festival.

Instrumentation

Eliza: Vocals, Guitar, Banjo, Fiddle, and every once in a while, mandolin

Discography

EP: One Year
LP: Screen Doors & Back Doors
She has appeared in-studio on WGBH in Boston, KFAI in Minneapolis, WNPR in Madison, KWVA in Eugene, and WCSA in Portsmouth, and has songs in rotation on independent radio stations both nationally and internationally.

Audio

• Screen Doors & Back Doors
  Listen   Download
• Lost Springs
  Listen   Download
• Pass Me Not (live)
  Listen   Download
• screen doors & back doors
  Listen   Download

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Blue Notes [+ Show ]
  

  Fans of Maddy Prior and Margot Timmins will immediately warm to her hushed, milky vocals and the sim...Fans of Maddy Prior and Margot Timmins will immediately warm to her hushed, milky vocals and the simplicity of her arrangements…which evoke comparisons to Leonard Cohen, Neil Young and Gillian Welch. While not a gimmicky artist or one likely to get audiences out of their seats, Eliza Blue is a performer capable of mesmerizing listeners with a set of heartbreaking, grown-up lullabies. -- Adrienne van der Valk

• Mother Earth [+ Show ]
  

  Her latest album...is a delicate, lyrically mature delving into thoughtful acoustic songwriting…'Scr...Her latest album...is a delicate, lyrically mature delving into thoughtful acoustic songwriting…'Screen Doors and Back Doors' is a glimpse into a world of songwriting that is continually developing. Honest and heartfelt, Blue's album is a lovely offering from one of the Cities' most promising up-and-coming folk singers. -- Andrea Myers

• Blues Stay Away from Me [+ Show ]
  

  I first became aware of Eliza Blue in the fall of last year when a friend put her song "Northshore" ...I first became aware of Eliza Blue in the fall of last year when a friend put her song "Northshore" on a mix tape for me…this achingly sad love gone wrong ballad stole the whole show. Lines such as "Water's deep on the Northshore and it's never, never still" recalled nothing less than Townes Van Zandt's "To Live's To Fly" in all its bleak, poetic glory. --Zayne Reeves

• Hamline Ave Folk Fest [+ Show ]
  

  Eliza has a strong voice and some killer instrumental skills as a guitarist, fiddler and yes, banjo ...Eliza has a strong voice and some killer instrumental skills as a guitarist, fiddler and yes, banjo player. As I'm writing this, she is singing one of my new favorite songs "Sword and Shield." Earlier this afternoon I hosted a songwriting forum as part of this festival, and I talked with Eliza about this tune, and she said she wrote it as an anthem to herself--a sort of self-help therapy. I'll tell you that this song is therapy for all of us--an amazingly soulful song with serious clawhammer banjo drive. Check out her CD Screen Doors and Back Doors, and you'll be treated to a nice rootsy collection of tunes. See her live, though, and you'll fall in love. -- Ellen Stanley

• Eliza Blue is Welcome Here Anytime [+ Show ]
  

  Screen Doors & Back Doors," Blue's first full-length release, is a transcendent composition worthy o...Screen Doors & Back Doors," Blue's first full-length release, is a transcendent composition worthy of your most soul-searching moments.
  With a fluctuating voice like Duluth's cherished Leane Perius, and a sound that evokes the most sepia-toned daydreams of the Dust Bowl (think "Carnivale"), Blue stands out from a majority of the seemingly millions of singer/songwriters making music these days.
  Especially rewarding are the upbeat "O My Lord," the back-porch album closer "Lost Springs" and the unavoidable "Freight Train," which puts her (please excuse the horrible pun…) on par with Duluth's prolific renegade-folk master, Charlie Parr.

• CD Review: Screen Doors & Back Doors [+ Show ]
  

  Immediate comparisons to alt-country angels Gillian Welch and Margot Timmins are inevitable when you...Immediate comparisons to alt-country angels Gillian Welch and Margot Timmins are inevitable when you first hear Minneapolis singer-songwriter-banjoist Eliza Blue’s “Screen Doors & Back Doors.” But upon further inspection, the astute listener realizes that Blue merely mines from the same rich field of traditional sounds and is an artist in her own right. Blue’s contemplative vocals suit her well on gospel numbers like “Bethlehem” and “O My Lord,” and originals like the title track and “It Ain’t Easy,” as does her minimalist banjo picking throughout this engaging album. So authentic is her sound on “Freight Train,” you would have thought Blue was channeling the spirit of Elizabeth Cotton. From the songs, to the recycled paper used to package this CD, “Screen Doors & Back Doors” is blissfully organic.
  — Michael Swanger

• Calendar Highlights [+ Show ]
  

  Eliza Blue...plays behind 'Screen Doors & Back Doors,' a showcase of sweetly sung, downtempo traditi...Eliza Blue...plays behind 'Screen Doors & Back Doors,' a showcase of sweetly sung, downtempo traditional folk reminiscent of Gillian Welch.

• Soundtrack to Your Life: Waking Up [+ Show ]
  

  Eliza Blue's sweetly plucked banjo and gentle trill ease weary souls out from unconsciousness while ...Eliza Blue's sweetly plucked banjo and gentle trill ease weary souls out from unconsciousness while gently ushering them into the workday. Consider her soothing folk-pop a necessary balm for any cold December day ahead.

Setlist

I typically play 45min - 1 hour sets, but am also available to play longer. In a short set i usually do a cover or two, but mostly originals. In a longer set i will play quite a few covers. A few covers i enjoy and do often: Fever (on banjo), Heart with No Companion by Leonard Cohen, I Shall be Released by Bob Dylan, and fair number of traditional tunes arranged for my own purposes.

Basic Requirements

Calendar