RED HOUSE RECORDS
Publicity Contact: Angie Carlson • publicity@redhouserecords.com • (651) 644-4161
Eliza Gilkyson
The Nocturne Diaries
(RHR-CD-264 • Release Date: March 18, 2014)
“For me, the challenge today is to remain human when everything around us compels us to shut down.”
- Eliza Gilkyson
AUSTIN, TX: Red House Records is pleased to
announce the March 18, 2014 release of The
Nocturne Diaries, the first new album in three years
from Grammy-nominated, Austin Music Hall of
Fame member Eliza Gilkyson.
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."
"The songs that come in the night are very different than the daylight songs," she says of the collection.
"Usually the big themes crop up in the dark -- thoughts of mortality, the state of the world, the plight
of mankind, one’s failures, losses and fears -- the things we are all too distracted to notice during the
day. But the backdrop of shadows also can highlight the faces of the loving people who share your life
with you, who care about the world, nature and humanity, who keep the fires of hope, humor and
hearth burning bright in this time, who make your life meaningful and worthy of your best intentions.
The recording opens with "Midnight Oil," a letter to the future and to Eliza's grandchildren, an
acknowledgment of the kind of world they have inherited and an encouragement to stay sentient and
Publicity Contact: Angie Carlson • publicity@redhouserecords.com • (651) 644-4161
www.redhouserecords.com
hopeful, with the possibility that "come tomorrow maybe a new world's born when we ride the old one
down."
“Eliza Jane” (the title a nod to the old fiddle tune “Liza Jane”) could be seen as the flipside of the
same coin, with Eliza poking fun at her tendency to fixate on the bleakest aspects of current events.
It’s a fiddle/mandolin/banjo stomp featuring Austin favorites Warren Hood and Rich Brotherton
(Robert Earl Keen), with a harmony assist from Red House compatriot Lucy Kaplansky and Eliza’s
son and co-producer, Cisco Ryder.
The next several songs highlight different points of view of the world we live in today, from the "end
times" love song "No Tomorrow" to her stark portrait of an adolescent shooter contemplating his
future in "An American Boy." Eliza follows that with an atmospheric version of "Where No
Monument Stands," a William Stafford poem set to music by John Gorka about the humble
perfection of an untouched field where no battle has ever been fought, where "the unknown soldier did
not die."
"The Ark," which uses traditional Middle Eastern instruments, presents the ancient story of the
Biblical flood in the Old Testament as a metaphor for our current environmental/economic crises.
"Fast Freight," a folk music standard from the 50s recorded by The Kingston Trio, The Brothers
Four, Tim Hardin and Eliza’s father’s group, Terry Gilkyson and the Easy Riders, features the
slinky interplay of lap steel, Omnichord and harp played by longtime band-mate Mike Hardwick (Jon
Dee Graham, Kelly Willis) and Red House label-mate Ray Bonneville. The song is a dark look at the
pull of the road from the point of view of a woman who has settled down but still longs for her old life,
to just "go bum again." With harmony vocals by her daughter Delia Castillo and son Cisco Ryder,
the song encompasses three generations of the Gilkyson family.
"The Red Rose and the Thorn," which Eliza describes as a sort of "Hendrix-meets-Rumi-spiritualquest-for-the-beloved," features her first big guns electric guitar solo ever, set up beautifully by world
class Hammond B3 player Ian McLagan (Faces, Patty Griffin) and bassist Chris Maresh (Eric
Johnson).
The Carter-Family-inspired "Touchstone" is a song of appreciation and gratitude for the ones we
love, while "World Without End" ponders humankind's disconnect from not only our potentially
disastrous future but our own mortality as well. Ultimately, Eliza lands on a hopeful note with "All
Right Here" (co-written with Danish songwriter Jens Lysdal), where home isn't so much a physical
place but a place in our hearts. This elegant love song features the pedal steel/Wiessenborne/saw
prowess of her musical band-mate from the Santa Fe years, John Egenes. "But wherever I roam, far
from you and our home, I've got it all right here in my heart."
Musically rich and lyrically thought-provoking, The Nocturne Diaries is a journey through the dark
night of the soul that ends at the light of dawn with a sense of gratitude, a renewed commitment to
care, and a stubborn little ray of hope.
Tour and festival dates will be announced soon.
BIOGRAPHY
Eliza Gilkyson is a politically minded, poetically gifted singer-songwriter who has become one of the most
Publicity Contact: Angie Carlson • publicity@redhouserecords.com • (651) 644-4161
www.redhouserecords.com
respected musicians in folk 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 such notables as Joan Baez, Bob
Geldof, Tom Rush and Rosanne Cash.
The Grammy-nominated songwriter 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, Bonnie Raitt, Shawn Colvin and others.
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 that promotes political activism and community involvement around issues
of race, patriarchy and global injustice.
RED HOUSE DISCOGRAPHY
The Nocturne Diaries - 2014 Roses at the End of Time – 2011
Red Horse (with John Gorka & Lucy Kaplansky) – 2010
Beautiful World – 2008
Your Town Tonight – 2007
Requiem (EP) – 2007 (released in UK only)
Paradise Hotel – 2005
Land of Milk and Honey – 2004
Lost and Found – 2002
Hard Times in Babylon – 2000
PREVIOUS PRESS
“Intimate, delicate-voiced and given to musical introspection . . . her honest voice and understated, life affirming
lyrics remain the core of her songs.”
– People
“Gilkyson doesn't pull any punches. She graces the music with her lush and passionate voice; a dark and lonely
sound, hope and satisfaction, and edgy lyrics with piercing imagery round out the whole.”
Publicity Contact: Angie Carlson • publicity@redhouserecords.com • (651) 644-4161
www.redhouserecords.com
– New York Times
“Few folk singers, even those from the original folk revival, have been able to combine social consciousness
with musicality as well as Eliza Gilkyson. She merges strong songwriting talent with commanding vocals to
create music that has immediate appeal as well as lasting intellectual impact.”
– Vintage Guitar
“She doesn’t place her songs above her listeners; she’s down inside them”
– All Music Guide
“Like the master writer she is, Gilkyson cuts through the jungle of posturing leftist verbiage and conservative
spin…She packs a political punch that is as entertaining and blue-collar as the work of Woody Guthrie”
– Houston Press
“One of the most influential artists on the American folk music scene”
– Maverick
“With a knowing eye on the past, Eliza Gilkyson is making folk music for the 21st Century, and it’s a delightful
thing to hear.”
– Austin Chronicle
“Raw, harrowing tales of shattered lives and immoral wars. She continues to make big statements…”
– Penguin Eggs
“Honey-on-sandpaper vocal style…with a weathered grace”
– Paste
“Gilkyson has raised the composing bar to a whole new level.
– FolkWax
“Her work is too good to be ignored. She sings with plaintive power and writes with soulful strength.”
– Dallas Morning News
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
Grammy Award Nomination – Best Contemporary Folk Album (Land of Milk and Honey)
Austin Music Award – Best Folk Artist
Austin Music Award – Best Songwriter
Austin Music Award – Best Female Vocalist
Austin Music Award – Best Folk Band
Folk Alliance Music Award – Album of the Year (Paradise Hotel)
Folk Alliance Music Award – Song of the Year (“Man of God” - Paradise Hotel)
Folk Alliance Music Award – Best Solo Artist
Folk Alliance Music Award – Best Contemporary Artist
Publicity Contact: Angie Carlson • publicity@redhouserecords.com • (651) 644-4161
www.redhouserecords.com