We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Elijah Delgado. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Elijah below.

Elijah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I’ve known that I wanted to do music professionally since I was around 10 years old! I feel super fortunate to have grown up in Austin, Texas, where there’s live music at every corner. I think the moment that really sealed the deal was watching James Bay perform a taping for the Austin City Limits television show. I must have been around 13 at that point, and I can still remember how fast my heart was beating watching the performance and being in that environment; The lights, heavy bass coming through the subs, the anticipation of it being for an iconic tv show, and the energy from the audience is honestly something I’ll never forget, and I think it created something concrete in my 13 year old head that I didn’t have prior to that. It sparked a focus and dedication that’s only continued to grow over the last 8 years since.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Elijah Delgado, and I’m a 21 year old singer/songwriter from Austin, Texas! I’ve been writing songs and playing guitar since the age of 6.
My dad taught me a few of chords once my hands were big enough, and then I taught myself the rest on Youtube.
Growing up in a house of music lovers in a city as culturally saturated as Austin was huge for me.
I honestly don’t know what things would look like for me if I had grown up anywhere else!
I’ve been shaped by the sounds of Austin. Stevie Ray Vaughan, Gary Clark Jr., Spoon, Shakey Graves, etc.
The list could go on and on.

I write all of my songs on my acoustic guitar. I’ve had this notion since I was young that if a song can be played stripped back with just an acoustic guitar, then it’s a mark of a great song. Obviously, that’s super subjective and I’m not saying that all my songs are great haha, but I think that there’s something there. I’ve always sought after writing from a stripped back and raw place, and then building from there. As a songwriter, it’s always been important to me to toe this line of writing as vulnerably and personally as possible, while also being able to stay vague enough for anybody to connect to. I love hearing when these songs that are personal to me land with listeners in ways that are unique to them.

I started releasing music in 2020 right when COVID hit, which was also my senior year of high school. Superrr weird year. I was a kid who had no clue what I was doing, but my first single somehow racked a couple hundred thousand streams fairly quickly!! I also learned pretty quickly that that was a pretty rare occurrence for an indie artist hahaha. I released the full EP at the beginning of 2021, but still wasn’t able to play live with a band for a good long while. It’s really only been about a year that I’ve been playing a bunch of live shows. I’ve found that playing live is like learning a new instrument.. It’s so different and exhilarating and I love it. I’m getting back in the saddle and writing and recording for EP2, and I’m super excited to be exploring what I want to sound like in 2024. I’ve learned a lot, written a lot, and played live a lot, and I’m excited to see where 2024 might take me!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I generally struggle to articulate my thoughts and emotions. Creating music not only gives me the opportunity to fully articulate myself, but also to express myself in such a way that can impact emotions and stir thoughts of listeners. It’s truly so rewarding to write something so personal that can then translate many many ways. This type of art being an outlet for me to be able to put everything out on the table is satisfying already for me as a human, but for that to then grow into something that’s bigger than me and hit people differently is really what makes it rewarding. It’s a balancing act for sure; I can’t fully serve myself, and I can’t fully serve the listener. I think a big part of a songwriter’s journey is learning how to do that!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think that being a creative is such a unique experience. I sometimes think about what it would be like if I wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer, maybe even an accountant, and how I even wish that was the case sometimes… I think that’s where I can feel misunderstood. It can sometimes feel like I didn’t have options. I know that sounds dramatic, and I don’t mean that in a swirly “predetermined destiny” sort of way- music is just all i’ve ever known, and it’s all i’ve ever felt that i’ve excelled in. To me, that then makes pursuing music as serious as pursuing any other career. It doesn’t feel fairy tale-y to me like it might to others, and that really intrigues me. My job as a creative is to take it as seriously as any career, and continue to put the work into it until it pays off! That’s such a subjective area, but I think I’ll know when I’m on the other side.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.elijahdelgado.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elijahthedelgado/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHO7QZ3XgEYPGWQ52AMs8bQ

Image Credits
Daniel Cavazos Steven Gunter Jorge Bulnes Clay Films Ismael Quintanilla iii Marcus Hayward