The daughter of successful folksinger Terry Gilkyson, Eliza is a third-generation poet/musician who, growing up in Los Angeles, knew that her life would revolve around music. "I got into it for all the wrong reasons, more as a survival tool then anything else, but it proved to serve me more than I dared to imagine it ever could." As a young teenager she recorded demos for her dad (who wrote folk/pop music hits "Greenfields", Marianne", and "Memories are Made of This", among others) and started writing and recording her own material as well.

In her late teens Eliza moved to New Mexico to pursue an alternative lifestyle and eventually raised a family, while continuing to perform, write and record. Over the years she developed a loyal fan base in the Southwest and Texas, as well as a uniquely intimate style shaped by her personal experiences and her need to stay true to her muse. She cut numerous records, including her most well known work on Gold Castle Records, 1987's Pilgrims, which charted and gave her a questionable reputation as a new age artist due to its introspective and atmospheric nature.

Pilgrims was a departure from her folk-driven roots, but it helped expand her popularity and gave her the opportunity to write, record and tour with Swiss harpist Andreas Vollenweider in the early 90's."Living and touring in Europe and working with Andreas opened me up to a much more spontaneous approach to music" she says, "and in a way gave me a chance to rediscover myself as a vocalist and a songwriter."

Eliza returned to the United States In 1994 to release Through the Looking Glass for Private Music and, in 1997, Redemption Road for SilverWave/MTI. In 1999 after creating her own label, Realiza Records, she released Misfits, a collection of previously unreleased recordings, which was received readily by radio and press as a homecoming to a sound that connected all the dots between her roots, her personal story and her passionate voice.

The 2000 release of Hard Times In Babylon, on Redhouse Records, secured Eliza's place on the contemporary folk music scene with a strong collection of songs, lean production, and a vocal confidence only hinted at in her previous recordings. Although she still avoids stylistic categories, she continues to evolve musically as a storyteller with blood ties to folk music blended with a pop-influenced passion for a large melody and deep personal lyrics.

Throughout 2001 and 2002, Eliza has gained a wider audience through appearances on Austin City Limits and National Public Radio, the inclusion of her version of Bob Dylan's "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" on Redhouse Record's Nod to Bob CD, European and North American tours and favorable press coverage. The 2002 release of Lost and Found demonstrates her continued growth as an artist and human being.

Eliza is now living in Austin, Texas and telling her story as truthfully, melodically and lyrically as she can.

"Sometimes I wish I could unplug this cord and my soul or my money I could save but every time I say I'm gonna quit the beauty way I hear my bones just turning in their grave little darling bones turning in their grave" -- "Beauty Way"