Singer-Songwriter Eli Conley's Birthday Bash

Description

Eli Conley is a powerful live performer, armed with expressive acoustic fingerstyle guitar chops and a country tenor croon. He crafts songs that have drawn comparisons to songwriting greats Steve Earle and Paul Simon from the raw material of his life as a gay transgender man with Virginia roots.

This is a special birthday show with some of Eli’s favorite local musicians opening the night— indie folk rockers Dear Indugu, and neo-soul folkstress Emily Moldy. Eli will bringing in a number of special guests to play with him, including Maia “Papaya” Wiitala, a member of his previous backing band Hip for Squares, on bass, and K. Sugar Hill of The Skinny String Band and Snack Time on fiddle.

In 2011, Eli released The All the Livelong Day EP and toured the pacific northwest and the southeast. "Oh what gorgeous, soulful music!" raved acclaimed roots music innovator Laura Love, "It knocked me off my easy chair. Eli Conley’s writing and singing are exquisite."

Eli has a classically trained voice that spans three octaves. His singing is stunning not only for its agility and ability to get deep inside an emotion, but also for the fact that he spent several years re-training himself how to sing after losing his high soprano voice to the changes brought about testosterone. Today, Eli teaches voice lessons, and he particularly enjoys coaching students going through the same vocal changes he once negotiated during his transition from female to male.

"Eli Conley has a proposal: “Let’s crack up this geode they call boy and girl.” Eli Conley and Hip for Squares demonstrate a country-tinged folk style with pleasant vocal harmonies... Fans of Girlyman, a more established feminist band with gender-queer membership, also should like Conley’s trio."
– EUGENE REGISTER-GUARD

"Offering a rich, lively brand of neo-folk music, Eli Conley skillfully challenges beliefs and boundaries, whether they be personal or political. Driven by well crafted tales ranging from the coal mines of Conley's Virginia roots to the radical streets of the Bay Area, Eli Conley’s unique style generates a tone that will resonate with every listener."
– CAREN ARMSTRONG, CELEBRATING SONGWRITERS

More Info

Link

http://lapena.org/event/2215

Call

510-849-2568 (Box Office)

Email

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