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, etown, 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 CD 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 CD, Day After Tomorrow. In addition to touring in support of her previous release, Roses at the End of Time, in 2011 and 2012 Eliza and label-mates John Gorka and Lucy Kaplansky performed as “Folk Super Trio” Red Horse, a side project whose CD stayed for months at the top of the Folk Music Charts. Eliza recently was invited to contribute a track on the Jackson Browne tribute, Looking Into You (due to be released in early 2014), along with Bruce Springsteen, Don Henley, Sara Watkins, Shawn Colvin, Bonnie Raitt and others. Eliza’s new CD, The Nocturne Diaries, produced by her son, Cisco Ryder, is scheduled for release on March 18, 2014.

Eliza is 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 activist resource center.