Biography

Carrie Elkin is a soulful singer with a gypsy spirit, a songwriter with a keen eye. Inspired by her travels and the many places she has called home--Ohio, New Mexico, Colorado, Boston, Austin--she documents the human condition with sensitivity and humor, crafting songs that have garnered attention at prestigious songwriting contests, including Mountain Stage NewSong and the Falcon Ridge Emerging Artist Showcase.

Carrie is a born performer, possessing an infectious energy that cannot be contained. As Maverick Magazine so eloquently put it: “We have never seen a performer so in love with the act of singing. Onstage Elkin was simply a force of nature.” With her dazzling voice and unpretentious charm, she wins over new fans at every show, whether playing at a headlining club gig, singing the national anthem in front of 20,000 at a Chicago Bulls game or opening for artists like Jesse Winchester, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Greg Brown.

Although Carrie got her musical start young, singing in church and playing the saxophone, she lived an extremely diverse and active young life. She competed as a National Champion acro gymnast, which led to an eventual invitation to join the circus. Instead, she studied physiology at Ohio University and became an organic chemist. But music never left her blood, and the attention she was gaining from her songwriting quickly stole her away from the academic world, as she began to record and tour across the country.

After settling in Austin, Texas in 2007, she recorded her album The Jeopardy of Circumstance. Produced by Colin Brooks (The Band of Heathens), the album received rave reviews in the US and the UK that shot her up the Euro-Americana Charts and landed her a spot on Bob Harris’ national BBC Radio show and several prestigious festival invitations.

Hot on the heels of her recent success, comes Carrie’s new album Call It My Garden. This debut on Grammy-winning folk label Red House Records was produced by Colin Brooks and Danny Schmidt and features many of Carrie’s close musical friends, including Sam Baker, Raina Rose, Robby Hecht, AJ Roach, Anthony Da Costa and Storyhill’s John Hermanson.

Supporting her album, Carrie will be on tour throughout the US and Europe in 2011 and will showcase at the South By Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival and the International Folk Alliance Conference. For her full tour schedule, visit www.carrieelkin.com or www.redhouserecords.com.