Eliza Gilkyson (TX)

Eliza Gilkyson is a Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and activist and one of the most respected musicians in folk, roots and Americana music circles. The daughter of legendary songwriter Terry Gilkyson, Eliza entered the music world as a teenager, recording demos for her father. Since then she has released 20 recordings of her own, and her songs have been covered by Joan Baez, Bob Geldof, Tom Rush and Rosanne Cash, and have been used in films, PBS specials and on prime-time TV. 

Eliza has appeared on NPR, Austin City Limits, Mountain Stage, etown, XM Radio, Air America Radioand has toured worldwide as a solo artist and in support of Richard Thompson, Patty Griffin and Mary Chapin Carpenter among others. She also toured with the Woody Guthrie review, Ribbon of Highway-Endless Skyway, alongside the Guthrie Family,and special guests Pete Seeger, Jackson Browne and Kris Kristofferson.  As well, she has been inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame alongside such legends as Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt and Nanci Griffith.  Her latest release on Red House Records, The Nocturne Diaries, produced by her son Cisco Ryder, is a “restless contemplative work inspired by the converging forces of her highest hopes and darkest fears.”

Eliza is also an active member of the Austin music and political community, including the environmental organization Save Our Springs (www.sosalliance.org), and she is a co-founder of  www.5604manor.org , an Austin-based resource centre that promotes political activism and community involvement around issues of race, patriarchy and global injustice.

A powerful performer, an outspoken voice for progressive causes, Eliza Gilkyson is not only a great talent, but an inspiration and role model to others.