ABOUT THE EVENT

Raised between the rugged lines of Tennessee and the long shadows of Michigan, Cruz Contreras has spent nearly thirty years forging his path through the Americana musical landscape. He’s a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, bandleader, producer, and storyteller whose voice cuts through noise like a well-honed blade.

First as co-founder of Robinella and the CCstringband, then as the fire at the heart of The Black Lillies, Cruz helped carve a sound that feels as old as the hills and as wild as the road. His songs have topped the Billboard and Americana charts, picked up Independent Music Awards, and earned him a nomination from the Americana Music Association as an emerging artist, though his music suggests he was never chasing trends to begin with.

He’s stood on stages from Conan O’Brien’s late-night set to the Grand Ole Opry, the latter over 40 times, and drawn praise from Rolling Stone, NPR, American Songwriter, and Vanity Fair. Contreras has toured with Robert Earl Keen and the Turnpike Troubadours, collaborated with John Oates, and shared stages with Old Crow Medicine Show, The Travelin’ McCourys, Tyler Childers, Mavis Staples, Elizabeth Cook and more. A festival veteran, Cruz Contreras and The Black Lillies have performed at Bonnaroo, Merle Fest, Jazz Fest, Red Ants Pants, Stagecoach, High Sierra, DelFest, Pickathon, Mile Zero, Cayamo, to name a few. But he doesn’t play for headlines, but for the quiet connection, the still moment in a crowded room when a lyric hits home like a memory you forgot you had.Now touring behind his debut solo album Cosmico, Cruz is joined once more by a band of road-tested companions under the name Cruz Contreras and The Black Lillies. Together, they bring with them a catalog of songs that stretch across time — from the familiar past to the hopeful unknown.