Eliza Gilkyson
BIO
Eliza Gilkyson is a twice Grammy-nominated (2006/2014) singer-songwriter and activist who is one of the most respected musicians in Folk, Roots and Americana circles. Her songs have been covered by Joan Baez, Bob Geldof, The Conspirare Choir, Tom Rush and Rosanne Cash and have appeared in films, PBS specials and on primetime TV. A member of the Austin Music Hall of Fame, and an inductee into the Austin Songwriter Hall of Fame, she has won countless Folk Alliance and Austin Music awards, including 2014’s Songwriter of the Year and the “Song of the Year” Award at the Folk Alliance International Conference in 2021.
Eliza’s latest release Home, co-produced with multi-instrumentalist/producer Don Richmond for Realiza Records, offers more of the intimate, challenging and insightful songs for which she is known, and features a wide range of material that reflect her appreciation for family, home and hearth in a time when those things have become essential to maintain sanity and decency. Cameos include a gorgeous duet with Robert Earl Keen, “How Deep”, that asks some of life’s important questions, and a sweet duet with longtime friend Mary Chapin Carpenter, “Sparrow”, on the appreciation a songwriter feels for fans and friends who inspire the songs into being.
Standout tracks include the upbeat and hopeful “World Keeps on Singing”, the stripped down love song, “Witness” featuring her guitarist brother Tony Gilkyson (X, Lone Justice, Chuck E. Weiss), the Ukrainian mother’s wish for normalcy and safety in the harmony-laden “Sunflowers”, the gospel tinged “Safety Zone”, and the epic storytelling ballad “Man in the Bottle” about her hit-songwriting father, Terry Gilkyson, featuring snippets of his songs and a cameo with longtime family friend Van Dyke Parks.
The title track “Home”, written by Karla Bonoff, reflects the ways that home can be a sanctuary in the most difficult times, and wraps up this ten song collection that gives us another glimpse into Eliza Gilkyson’s unique perspective on these critical times to which her music bears witness.
