Elisa Smith

When Garth Brooks invites you on stage to play a song, you play a song! They met when she attended a talk he and Trisha Yearwood were giving at Harvard in Cambridge, MA. A student at the time, she was studying the neurological effects music has on the brain. Garth mentioned that he still gets nervous before he performs so she raised her hand and asked him how he overcomes his nerves. He invited her on stage to play, gave her his guitar (the one she plays with now), and told her to sing her heart out.

Elisa grew up in a small town in Illinois. She loved music as a kid. She was enraptured by her grandmother's stories of Nashville in the 50's and 60's, shared her father's love of classic rock from the 70's, and she fell asleep her mother's lullabies (which she learned were the dust-worn ballads of Woody Guthrie). Rock n roll and vintage country run in her blood.

Her songs elicit feelings of nostalgia, pride, wanderlust, heartbreak, and good ol' fashioned boot-stompin' mischief and her sound has been likened to Loretta Lynn meets The Rolling Stones. She is currently releasing her first full length album "Baptized By Fire." Produced by Caleb Gilbreath (Brett Eldredge, Mandi Sagal) and Eddie Bayers (Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson), the album tells the story of redemption through love, family, and faith and is being released one song at a time with the full release (plus a special bonus track) coming in November of 2021.

It's been a wild ride, but Elisa's just warming up.