Carrie Elkin

Carrie Elkin
High Noon Saloon, Madison, Wisconsin August 8, 2010
Background information
Birth name	Carrie Lynn Elkin
Born	(1973-10-11) October 11, 1973 Cleveland, Ohio
Genres	Folk, country
Occupation(s)	vocalist, guitarist, musician, singer-songwriter, composer, lap harpist
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Red House Records
Website	CarrieElkin.com

Carrie Elkin (born October 11, 1973 in Cleveland, Ohio), is a folk/country singer and musician based out of Austin, Texas. Active since the mid-1990s, she signed with Red House Records in September 2010.

Early

Carrie Elkin was born in Cleveland, Ohio on October 11, 1973. She began playing the saxophone and singing at her church at a young age. She later competed as a National Champion acro-gymnast. She studied physiology at Ohio University before working as an organic chemist.

When deciding to concentrate on a music career, she embarked on a nomadic lifestyle which lasted for more than a decade. She performed in a variety of clubs and recorded several self-funded albums — starting with her 1996 debut, Simplicity.

Recordings

She self-released her first album, Simplicity, in 1996. Her second album, Live at the Front Room, was released in 2001. The Waltz arrived in 2004 and The Jeopardy of Circumstance in 2007. Her fifth record, Call It My Garden was released in early 2011 by Red House Records; her first with that label (she originally released the album in 2010). It was produced by Colin Brooks and Danny Schmidt and features Sam Baker, Raina Rose, Robby Hecht, A. J. Roach, Anthony Da Costa, and Storyhill's John Hermanson. The first track, "Jesse Likes Birds" was #1 Song on the FOLKDJ-L radio playlists (a.k.a. "Folk DJ List") for the month of January 2011 — based on 15,346 overall airplays from 157 different radio disc jockeys. It was the #2 Song in February 2011. The album ranked fifth for January 2011 for plays of "Jesse Likes Birds", "Iowa", and "Edge Of The World". It ranked #5 Album again for February 2011 for plays of "Jesse Likes Birds", "Landeth By Sea", and "Guilty Hands" — based on 12596 overall airplays from 149 different DJs.

She appears with Danny Schmidt on his more recent albums. She recorded "Little Drummer Boy" with Danny on the Our Christmas Present (2008) fundraising record for Our Community Place in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Elkin's first album in six years, The Penny Collector is a follow-up to "twangy, pure country" Call It My Garden (2011). Titled in honor of her father, a lifelong collector of coins, whose "passing informed the narrative woven throughout his daughter's sixth LP."

Performance

Carrie has performed the national anthem at a Chicago Bulls game and opened for such artists as Jesse Winchester, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Greg Brown. She tours, in the US and UK, often appearing with Danny Schmidt live and on his recordings.Storyhill Fest Midwest. She was been selected to appear at the 7th Annual Rice Festival in Fischer, TX November 2010 and the 24th annual International Folk Alliance Conference February 2011 in Memphis, TN. She appeared on the Bob Harris Country show on BBC Radio 2 August 6, 2009. She sang with Danny Schmidt on the WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Show in 2010 (radio hour number 526).

Style and sound

Elkin has been described as an acoustic guitarist who performs mainly in the folk and country musical genres. She also sings reverential music and is said to be "in love with the act of singing." |Maverick Magazine|}}

With Danny Schmidt at house party in UK
November 30, 2009

Personal

Elkin is married to singer-songwriter Danny Schmidt and gave birth to their first child in 2016. They live together in Austin.

Discography

• Simplicity (1996)
• Live at the Front Room (2001)
• The Waltz (2004) [
• The Jeopardy of Circumstance (2007)
• Call It My Garden (2011) Red House Records
• The Penny Collector (2017)

Distinctions, honors, and awards

• She and Danny Schmidt appear at An Evening with Friends-Something to Smile About, a benefit for the Interfaith Dental Clinic presented by Delta Dental of Tennessee, featuring Emmylou Harris and BlackHawk at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee May 11, 2012.
• "Jesse Likes Birds" from Call It My Garden was listed as one of the best songs of 2011 (17th of 22) by The Austin Chronicle's music reviewer Jim Caligiuri.
• She was named one of Texas Music Magazine's 2011 "Artists of the Year" in their Winter 2012 issue.
• In 2011 she appeared at the 24th annual International Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis, TN (February ), and the 7th Annual Rice Festival in Fischer, TX (November).
• In 2010 she appeared at Storyhill Fest Midwest and the Home of the Islands Folk Festival on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.
• She sang with Danny Schmidt on the WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Show in 2010 (radio hour number 526).
• She recorded "Little Drummer Boy" with Danny Schmidt on the Our Christmas Present (2008) fundraising record for Our Community Place in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
• She appeared at the 2007 South Padre International Music Festival on South Padre Island, Texas.

External links

• Carrie Elkin official website.
• American Agency bio.
• Carrie Elkin at AllMusic.
• Carrie Elkin at Facebook.
• Carrie Elkin at Red House Records.
• Carrie Elkin and Danny Schmidt at Red House Records.
• FOLKDJ-L "the global discussion forum for Folk DJs".