Meet Americana Songwriter "Eli Gardiner" from Sault Ste. Marie, MI

Eli Gardiner on Bandcamp

For Eli Gardiner, it's all about the connection, writing from the heart with honesty and conviction. With influences like Jason Isbell, John Moreland, and Bob Dylan, he values the purity of expression through his songs. Some of Eli's earliest music memories are listening to "Saturday Night Gold" on the radio and singing along the to Del Shannons song, "Runaway." He has always loved music and listening to his Dad's collection of records, specifically Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA." ​

"The songs on the new album "Virginia Rose" are from two chapters in my life. The first is when I was living in a old farm house in Des Moines Iowa, watching the thunder storms roll in across the corn and flatlands. I would come home from work and open the windows to let the house cool down and play these songs to the night sky. The second chapter comes with the move to Virginia, the heartache of addiction and losing a brother. Facing mortality is never an easy thing but these songs helped me to work through the loss and come out the other side.