Eliza Gilkyson & Nina Gerber

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Eliza Gilkyson is a Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and activist who has become one of the most respected musicians in Roots, Folk and Americana circles. The daughter of legendary songwriter Terry Gilkyson, she entered the music world as a teenager, recording demos for her father. Since then she has released 19 recordings of her own, and her songs have been covered by such notables as Joan Baez, Bob Geldof, Tom Rush and Rosanne Cash.

She has appeared on NPR, Austin City Limits, Mountain Stage, e-town, XM Radio, Air America Radio and has toured worldwide as a solo artist and in support of Richard Thompson, Patty Griffin, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Dan Fogelberg, as well as with the  Woody Guthrie review, Ribbon of Highway-Endless Skyway, alongside the Guthrie Family, Jimmy Lafave, Slaid Cleaves, and special guests Pete Seeger, Jackson Browne and Kris Kristofferson.  She has been inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame alongside such legends as Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt and Nanci Griffith and is an ongoing winner of the Austin Chronicle’s various music awards, as well as Folk Alliance awards for Best Artist, Best Songwriter and Record of the Year.

Her 2005 album Land of Milk and Honey was nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album.  Eliza’s meditative “Requiem,” written as a prayer for those who lost their lives in the devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia, was recorded by the nationally recognized choral group Conspirare, whose version was nominated for a Grammy and won the prestigious Edison Award in Europe.  The song has become a standard in choir repertory the world over.  Two of her songs appeared on Joan Baez’ Grammy-nominated record, Day After Tomorrow.

In addition to touring in support of her first new album in three years. Produced and recorded in her hometown of Austin with her son, Cisco Ryder, The Nocturne Diaries is a restless contemplative work inspired by the converging forces of her highest hopes and darkest fears. The songs range from roots rockers to a haunting version of the folk classic "Fast Freight" written by her father, Terry Gilkyson. Never one to shy away from politics and social issues, she writes about an adolescent on the verge of a rampage ("An American Boy") and looks through the eyes of an abused teenage girl ("Not My Home") with the characteristic empathy and insight that have made her one of the most beloved folk artists today. She closes the album on a hopeful note with the intimate "All Right Here," a gentle ballad about finding the most valuable things close at hand in family and home. Eliza describes these songs as "torches that illuminated my process over the last year, personal reflections that the nighttime inspired."