Join us for a night of blues with Eli Cook!
Eli was born at the foot of the mountains of Virginia, and with no TV growing up, he spent Saturday nights around the radio with local shows and Prairie Home Companion. He picked up the guitar at age 13 after watching his older brother play and began to teach himself. Within two years, he was playing solo acoustic guitar for gospel revivals and electric blues in a power trio in local “juke joints.”
A student of several musical tastes, Cook took what he heard on the record player and radio melding it into his own, which makes him stand out. At 18 with a bone-shaking growl and bonafide blues guitar chops, he was received by fans and critics as a torch bearer for a slew of historical players, from Son House to Leadbelly to today’s modern players, like Chris Smither and Rory Block.
As the country sounds of Appalachia crept in, Eli did not flinch; “It didn’t seem unnatural,” says Cook, who was the product of a rural Southern upbringing where people moved easily between genres. “It’s what was around me, and I just tried to pick up on everything and everybody, including Doc Watson and Chet Atkins. In fact, hearing Chet fingerpick made me realize I didn’t need a band.” (Source: Guitar Player 2007)
Tickets available at www.artsincarnate.com.
75 N Mason St