Liz Carlisle profile picture

Liz Carlisle

Hold On to Big Dreams

About Me

mouse over photo to see caption
Backstage
Click to go to Liz's Youtube Channel in a new window
Love Ain't Enough
Click to go to Liz's Youtube Channel in a new window
See Liz interviewed and perform on
Boston's Fox 25

Born and raised in Missoula, Montana, Liz Carlisle paid her way through Harvard University in just about every way imaginable. "I took a snow shoveling job my freshman year and spent my first college Thanksgiving cleaning dorm room toilets,” she remembers.Missoula knows Liz as a talented high school athlete and a dedicated volunteer. They remember when she appeared on The Today Show to share the inspiring story of her blind physics teacher. So, her hometown wasn't surprised when Liz graduated Summa cum Laude from Harvard. Nor were they surprised when she returned home with a finished album in hand.From her earliest years, Liz remembers singing along with her father, who played acoustic guitar. She led the drum section in her high school marching band and sang soprano in choir. At age 17, Liz began taking guitar lessons from her father and brought her first used guitar with her to college. "That was probably the one thing that saved me from being homesick," she said. "I could take that guitar out and play 'Just To See You Smile' or 'Fire and Rain,' and feel like I was home somehow."When Liz started writing her own songs, her father's folk music blended with the country music she'd always loved on the radio in Montana. She began working with producer Russell Wolff in Boston, adding additional influences and a strong musical underpinning to her impassioned stories.When Liz began performing live in Boston as a sophomore in college, she simply won people's hearts with her genuineness, energy, and passion for human stories. Within a year, she was a familiar face on the local music scene, fast gaining national attention as well. Her first CD, Five Star Day, garnered considerable radio play and press attention from major media like the Boston Globe, Associated Press, Washington Post, and BBC. During her last year at Harvard, Liz attended classes, completed a senior thesis, and played over 100 shows. "It wasn't easy," Liz admits, "but I really believed in what I was doing."After graduation, Liz left her books behind to pursue music full time. While continuing to perform acoustic shows, she got her first opportunity to open for the country artists who had inspired her since childhood. First it was a concert with Sugarland, then a show with The Wreckers - soon Liz was opening for LeAnn Rimes, Travis Tritt, Lonestar, Diamond Rio, Steve Holy, Miranda Lambert, and Hal Ketchum - in venues all over the country.What you've got here is Liz's first Nashville record. She is releasing it less than a year after she turned in her last college paper. And what else could she call it, really?Big Dreams

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 7/13/2006
Band Website: lizcarlisle.com"lizcarlisle.com
Band Members:

OFF THE ROAD


Hi Friends,

This is Liz. I haven't been checking my page regularly, so I'm sorry if I haven't responded to something you've sent. I really appreciate hearing from you, and thanks so much for stopping by to listen to my music.

I've decided to take a break from touring to focus on some other things. I've seen very little of my family or my home these past six years, and that was starting to tear at my heart. I'm also really interested in sustainability and policy, and I'm looking at opportunities for work and grad school in that field.

Thanks so much for your support and for sharing your stories with me. Touring has been an incredible education and humanizing experience. Life changing. It is the lessons I learned from all of you that have helped to shape who I am. I carry your wisdom as guidance, and the memories of what we shared will continue to inspire me in whatever I do.

Dream Big!!

Liz

Click to request Liz on:


Performing Songwriter
DIY Review


Influences: Click to see the video of Liz singing "The Star Spangled Banner"
at the Patriots-Bears game

Visit Liz at

Sounds Like: Sara Evans, Gillian Welch, Trisha Yearwood, Jennifer Nettles, Sugarland, Gretchen Wilson, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Miranda Lambert, Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Swift, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Kathy Mattea,

Record Label: Wildground
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Someone you should hear

Because I have the great privilege to interact with so many incredible musicians, I usually refrain from making any suggestions or recommendations - there are just too many to list. But there's a son...
Posted by Liz Carlisle on Wed, 05 Mar 2008 05:42:00 PST

Winding Down the Year

What a great night at Fox Run on Saturday! Russell suggested that we should ALWAYS watch JD Drew hit a big home run right before we go onstage. It certainly put us all in the mood for some fun.All i...
Posted by Liz Carlisle on Tue, 23 Oct 2007 06:13:00 PST

Thanks Missoula

I gotta hand it to my parents - they picked a great place to raise me and my brother. I had about 6 days at home around Labor Day weekend, and it was wonderful. There was still quite a bit of smoke ...
Posted by Liz Carlisle on Thu, 06 Sep 2007 11:52:00 PST

I have rediscovered reading!

I always knew that at some point after college, I would start reading for pleasure again. And this week, about 8 years after I last read a book that wasn't assigned for class, I finally wandered down...
Posted by Liz Carlisle on Fri, 10 Aug 2007 05:17:00 PST

Get Well Billy!

For those of you keeping a close eye on my tour schedule, you may have noticed that we had to cancel our September show in Gainesville, Georgia with Billy Currington.We had two great shows with Billy ...
Posted by Liz Carlisle on Tue, 31 Jul 2007 11:09:00 PST

How I Ended up With a Japanese Record Deal

It was just over a year ago when I first heard from Masayo Okino of Aozora Co. Ltd. She explained that her ad agency had searched iTunes for every version of "The Water is Wide," and they had decided...
Posted by Liz Carlisle on Fri, 20 Jul 2007 12:23:00 PST

I Remember When ...

I had some of the most fun I've had in a long time - at rehearsal yesterday. Russell and I got together with Colin Sapp just to run the tunes for Sunday, since the three of us haven't played together...
Posted by Liz Carlisle on Fri, 13 Jul 2007 05:41:00 PST

Ticks

Here's what I wonder about that Brad Paisley song: what happens if the guy actually DOES find a tick on the girl after they go make out in the sticks? How sexy is that? I got three ticks up in North...
Posted by Liz Carlisle on Fri, 06 Jul 2007 11:40:00 PST

Ways to stay cool when it's nasty and humid outside

It's that time of year again. I must say, I am not really used to it, because the mountains and dry air insulate us from the real disgusting summers in Montana. So I am really feeling it here in St....
Posted by Liz Carlisle on Thu, 28 Jun 2007 07:47:00 PST

Hello from Minnesota

Hello out there,We are up in the Twin Cities this scorching June Sunday, driving to St. Cloud for a show with Bill Anderson tonight. For the first time in over six months, Russell and I are talking a...
Posted by Liz Carlisle on Sun, 24 Jun 2007 11:55:00 PST