Desert Angel

Elspeth Summers

Elspeth Summers
Elspeth Summers . Photo courtesy polychromaticstudio.com

Fresh-faced musician and visual artist Elspeth Summers plays psychedelic folk, modern Americana and country music. Her voice is feisty and youthful while also conveying a road-hard-and-put-away-wet wisdom and weariness.

“A lot of my music has Old West-inspired themes and visuals,” the Reno, Nevada-based artist tells EW. “I am a country girl at heart and love the desert.”

In the song “Starlight,” Summers evokes Nevada when she sings of seeing “funny lights in the sky.” The song’s tempo wobbles lazily between acoustic guitar and buoyant banjo.

And from the song “Home Means Nevada,” Summers sings alongside lonely acoustic guitar: “Home means Nevada/ Home means the hills, the sage and the pine.”

Summers plays around Reno with her band The Sage Bandits but tours as a duo. “On the road I play with a multi-instrumentalist, John Underwood, who accompanies me as my ‘band,’” Summers explains. “He plays banjo, accordion, cajon and trumpet. Our duo has the sound of a full band and allows me to really channel my Stevie Nicks inspiration.”

“I hope people learn more about nature and spiritual themes by listening to my tunes,” Summers says. “Much of my music is about magic — the paranormal and living in tune with your own truth. I hope my songs inspire people in whatever way I can.”

The Guitar Recovery Project joins Elspeth Summers 8:30 pm Friday, May 15, at Axe & Fiddle in Cottage Grove; $5.