Sunday Afternoon Music: Eli Alger

Eli Alger is a passionate anomaly in his own right. Predominantly steeped in Old school/90’s country, Eli is heavily influenced by the true Cowboys of country music like George Straight, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Garth Brooks, and Toby Keith. With some considerable influence derived from the modern troubadours like Cody Johnson, Luke Combs, and Tyler Childers as well. He will tell you every time “for me there is no other way to play a show than like it’s your last, I don’t care if I’m playing a dive bar for tips or in front of 10,000 people.

I’m always going to be in full character, dressed to the 9’s, and as energetic and interactive with the crowd as I possibly can, there is simply no other option. I would also like to think that I carry that mentality with me off the stage as well, because it’s not just an act, it’s a lifestyle… Full force”. The 24 years old Des Moines Iowa native had spent the last six years playing out for people and has acquired approximately 500 shows under his belt. At the beginning of his career, he started playing occasional shows as a freshman in college on the weekends while attending the University of Iowa. After some time, he formed “The Little Liquor Band” which saw success and showed promise. After just 6 months they were packing venues, selling merch, and playing radio stations. Unfortunately, once “the ball had really started to roll” for the LLB, the trio broke up due to unprecedented circumstances, but this did not stop Eli.

Utilizing the following built while a part of The Little Liquor Band, Eli broke out on his own as a solo act. With countless hours of practice and dedication and the adoption of the headset mic, Eli has been able to develop a solo act worthy of playing “band” venues by himself. Putting on such a high-energy show that he has been able to play the big Honky Tonks around the Midwest and more times than not, stay late and sell joints out of beer. Eli has since moved to Nashville to take the next step in his music career. He is determined to play shows all around the country to build his fanbase, get his original material professionally recorded, build his music business network, and with a bit of luck, nail down a record deal. He plans to work tirelessly until his goals are achieved, and hopefully, you will see him at the next show to see what all the fuss is about!