Eli Smith

Eli Smith is a folk singer, banjo player and guitarist who grew up in New York’s Greenwich Village. Smith has recorded for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and Jalopy Records. He regularly performs as a solo musician and with the string band the Down Hill Strugglers.

Eli has performed and recorded with John Cohen (New Lost City Ramblers) and Peter Stampfel (The Holy Modal Rounders and The Fugs), and has opened for songwriters Patti Smith and Steve Earle. He can be heard singing "The Roving Gambler" on the soundtrack to the Coen Brothers film Inside Llewyn Davis. Eli Smith has performed at festivals and venues including the Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, Newport Folk Festival, Vancouver Folk Festival, The Jalopy Theatre and many more.

Eli is also a music producer, heading the annual Brooklyn Folk Festival and Washington Square Park Folk Festival and has curated releases of historic archival recordings, including the Harry Smith B-Sides for Dust-to-Digital and numerous albums for Jalopy Records.

Eli Smith served as Traditional Music Consultant for the video game Red Dead Redemption 2 from Rockstar Games and can be seen playing a roller skating fiddler in the film "Tesla" with Ethan Hawke. From 2006-2012 Smith hosted Down Home Radio, believed to be the first folk music podcast on the internet, available at www.DownHomeRadioShow.com.