Harp Magazine

Eliza Lynn
The Weary Wake Up Civility

Eliza Lynn hails from the mountain town of Asheville, N.C., but she belongs to the world. The slim young redhead with the big, room-filling voice—think Peggy Lee meets Bonnie Raitt—wields her guitar and banjo against a sensual, sassy backdrop of jazz-flavored blues, old-time country folk and classic Memphis soul. One moment she’s a revelator of weary resolve in the banjo/martial drums-powered “Conrad”; the next, a bruised-heart ex-ingénue in “Hold My Breath,” a pop nugget aglow with George Harrison riffs and a smoky B3; and the next, a finger-snapping temptress with strange tastes in nocturnal suitors in the “Fever”-like “Stared at Me.” Intriguingly, Lynn funded her project through individual and business sponsorships. Arts patronage has a long and colorful history, but in contemporary times it’s all but disappeared from the music sphere. When you get dividends as rich as these, however, clearly it’s a tradition worth reviving.

By Fred Mills

First printed in November 2007