Ruth Eliza is a clawhammer banjo player and singer-songwriter based in Lancaster, UK.
Drawing inspiration from traditional Appalachian folk music and contemporary bluegrass and Americana, she offers an innovative vision of Anglo-folk-Americana.
His frank, authentic and raw, yet carefully arranged, interpretations, combined with his unique banjo style, captivate the audience.
From energetic and catchy tracks to soft and flowing melodies, his varied and nuanced repertoire takes the listener on a journey.
Her debut album, While The Light Shines, emphasizes simple and sincere songwriting, resulting in an effective, evocative, and timeless sound.
Themes include reflections on her life, including her search for identity during her childhood in a former mining community in the Midlands, her journey as a self-taught musician from a working-class background, and her experience of motherhood, as well as classic songs about love and heartbreak.
She collaborated with guitarist Matthew Ord (Assembly Lane, Cloth-Eared Mule) on the arrangements, as well as mandolinist Tom Kimber (Assembly Lane, Pons Aelius), Swedish violinist Adam Bülow (Bülow's Kvartett, New Valley String Band), and bassist Eleanor Wilkie (Midnight Skyracer, Sapphire Storm, Charlotte Carrivick Band). The group's innovative Anglo-folk-Americana sound brings a fresh perspective, with most tracks driven by the clawhammer banjo, in Ruth's unique style developed through the study of both historical and contemporary banjo players. The album was recorded with Josh Clark at Get Real Audio studio and was released in March 2026.
Ruth's other projects include Blue Lass, a bluegrass/old-time/Americana band; the fiddle and banjo duo Jeri Foreman & Ruth Eliza; and the old-time group One Night Stringband. She has toured extensively.
in the UK and Europe, and has participated in festivals such as Fire In The Mountain (Wales), Celtic Connections (Scotland), Moniaive Bluegrass Festival (Scotland), La Roche Bluegrass
Festival (France), Herbe Bleue (France), Crossover Festival (England), Didmarton Bluegrass
Festival (England), Purbeck Valley Folk Festival (England), Sweet Sunny South Festival (England).
