Daily Inspiration: Meet Eli Blackshear

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eli Blackshear.

Hi Eli, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I grew up in Manitou Springs, CO, where I spent most of my life playing music. I started as a concert pianist when I was a little boy, playing classical and ragtime music. As I got older, I transitioned into playing bass and rock music before falling deeply in love with folk and blues music. I spent all of high school working on my craft, before eventually spending a long time on the street, homeless. During my time of homelessness, I would busk on the street for upwards of 6 hours a day, playing guitar and trying to make enough money to eat. Honestly, those times were really hard, and many days people would walk by and tell me how bad I sounded, but it never broke down my resolve.

I started getting gigs and ran an open mic at a bar called the Pikes Peak Pub when I was around 18-19 and that’s when it became really viable that I could make a living doing this. For years I wrote music and would try and bring other musicians into the fold, before I met Skip Carlson and Micah Dettling. Together we would form The Barefoot Family Caravan. We were together for roughly 9 years, and toured the country multiple times. We played venues such as Red Rocks Amphitheatre, The Whiskey A-Go-Go, Meadowgrass Music Festival and so many more. It was really an amazing time in my life, and I’m forever greatful to the people I shared those years with.

After years of playing together we ended up separating and going in different directions, so I moved to Atlanta to pursue a solo album and get back to my folk and blues roots. I released my debut solo album “Black Ginger” in November of 2024 and starting gaining a little prominence around the Decatur music scene, as well as traveling back and forth between Atlanta and Nashville, playing my new work. This past July I was fortunate enough to with the 56th bi-annual Eddie’s Attic Open Mic Shootout, cementing my name up with previous winners such as John Mayer, Tyler Childres, and Jennifer Neddles. It’s been an amazing, ever-evolving journey, and I just feel so blessed to be able to make music with and for my friends, and I’m forever looking forward to the future!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Music is this interesting thing to do with your life, because theres never really a Peak, ya know? Like I’ll always be working on something new, and always be trying to innovate, and I think at times that can be frustrating. I’ve definitely struggled with attaining success, especially in my teenage years when I was homeless. It’s kinda like, if you give music everything you have, it gives you just a little bit more to work off of, but you repeat the process over and over again of giving it everything for a little of it’s magic. That kinda idea, can create real trying times in your life, and obstacles that seem impossible to overcome until you do.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter. I do all my own production, as well as songwriting for others (like Cast Iron Shoes; who is a fantastic singer-songwriter from Austin) and producing for others. My real passion is the folk music, though. I remember when I was going through some really rough stuff as a teenager, and I wasn’t going down the path I should have, folk music turned me around and inspired me to do better things with my life. That’s when I knew this is what I would do forever. Music can change your mind, and if you can change your mind, you can change your heart.

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
I can be very impatient and sometimes I try and force growth to happen before it can. I would advise people staying out to just take their time and remember that everything happens when it’s supposed to. Enjoy the ride while you’re on it, ’cause this is so worth it. Never give up, never let someone back you into the corner of “you’ll never be good enough.” or “this isn’t working, you should do something else.” It all comes in due time, and good things come to those who wait.

Pricing:

• I sell vinyls of my last album “Black Ginger” for $45 nationwide
• I have cd’s of “Black Ginger” for $15
• I sell t-shirts and other apparel for $40
• I’m open to booking for any event or show, and can be contacted by email at eliblackshearmusic@gmail.com

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackgingerboy
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Xv6GrAMav/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@blackgingerboy
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2zWIwvhKTf1Q1bRxbNjNa1

Image Credits
Rich Harrison
San Francisco Coffee Roasters
Eli Blackshear