Elijah Ford Headlines The Sahara Lounge

Austin – In preparation of a 20 date European tour, Elijah Ford headlined The Sahara Lounge sans his usual band, The Bloom. He will be playing acoustic on tour, so an acoustic set is what we got at The Sahara.

Always an interesting crowd, the venue caters to world musicians but also holds rock shows. Because the older reggae guys are usually in attendance, the rock musicians hope they’re liked and can pull the regulars away from the outdoor campfire to fill the room. Being a Wednesday, the place wasn’t packed but Ford pulled in plenty of stragglers. He held the Wednesday residency spot for March and has become a staple at the venue.

Some music doesn’t seem as powerful when performed acoustic, but this is not the case with Ford. He has a sweet rock n’ roll voice with strong vibrato. The only difference in his acoustic set is he leads with his voice more than his guitar. Most recently, Ford released a 7” on Alphabet Records featuring his songs “Blessed” and “O.K.” but fans can look forward to a full length to be released this year.

He is a musician’s musician with a rock sensibility that would appeal to a pop audience. He plays with passion, and the expression shows on his face. He began the set slowly but built up to include a keyboardist and vocalist to harmonize. I appreciated the intimacy in watching him play to a sparse crowd but you just know, this is the type of musician that is meant to overtake an arena. With catchy love songs such as “The Lion,” he is an artist that can win over any crowd.

“Hey you’re my favorite dancer from The Continental Club!” Ford says to an older, balding gentleman wearing a smart pair of khaki cargo pants and Oakley blades indoors at night. Excited, the man not only confirms that he was the fan from the Continental club, but promises to be at Ford’s next two Austin shows and lists the days and dates. He then continues to dance in a motion that makes it look as though he is humping the air. As I said, Ford is a very accessible artist.

Bringing his keyboardist in for the harmonies accentuates the tone in Ford’s own voice, giving it that hint of Southern charm he picked up in moving from California to Austin. His music is the type that would fit perfectly as the theme to opening credits on MTV—in the best way possible. Simply put, it just makes you feel good. As a teen, I listened to far too much depressing emo and watching Elijah Ford at The Sahara makes me realize I needed (and still need) an artist like him.

For more on Elijah Ford go HERE.

Photos By Ilyse Kaplan

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Ilyse Kaplan

Growing up in Boston, MA, Ilyse Kaplan was an avid music fan so she followed her passion to Los Angeles.Unable to decide whether to be Penny Lane or William from "Almost Famous," she combined their best assets--William's writing skills and Penny's fashion--and joined her guitarist boyfriend Southwest.Though missing her old haunts like The Echo and The Satellite, she has warmly embraced the Austin music community and looks forward to sharing the hidden gems she comes across wandering aimlessly down east 6th st.Her record collection holds no boundaries from 60's Yeh Yeh girls like Francoise Hardy to her imaginary hip hop boyfriend, Drake.From the kings of morose, The Smiths, to the reigning queen, Taylor Swift.Having written for publications such as Variety, LADYGUNN, and Filter in the past, she looks forward to reporting Austin's Best New Bands live from the scene.