Inda Eaton w/ Leon Tilbrook opening
“We can argue politics and policies, but, at the end of the day, we are bound together beyond these,” shares Americana singer-songwriter Inda Eaton. “I do what I do to connect—music has this great disarming quality—it leads to vulnerability quickly as people lay down their shields.”
In a career that spans 8 albums in 20 years, and a blur of endless tours, for her latest album, Shelter In Place, Inda opted for once to stay put. The 11-song record was literally tracked in the Springs, New York-based artist’s backyard. In the stillness of the album writing process, she sifted through her scrapbook of travels, and created a Huck Finn-spirited collection of story-rich heartland rock songs brimming with adventure, and personal reflection.
Inda’s warm humor, free-spirited emotionality, and literate flair make her songs feel as comfy as a favorite pair of jeans. Inda’s vocals have a whiskey and honey-tinged raspy quality that’s both stirring and soothing. Her stories and musings feel instantly resonate. Inda’s songwriting spans fist-pumping anthemics and bucolic balladeering, and it embraces a wide swath of influences, including country, classic rock, folk, and pop.
Inda’s music has been a global passport, taking her through Latin America, Australia, and Germany in her early years. There, she became something of a charming troubadour, winning over audiences with her quick wit, affable onstage connectivity, and her ability to fuse rousing hooks within a downhome roots-rock sensibility. These formative experiences have served her well in building an engaged following in the U.S.
Inda has toured in various configurations throughout America, both as a captivating solo performer and a powerful bandleader with a trusted posse of ace musicians. Select live highlights include opening for noted names like John Hiatt, Blues Traveler, Earl Scruggs, Hootie and the Blowfish, LeAnn Rimes, Shemekia Copeland, and Molly Hatchet. Additional performance highlights include tours for American Society of Young Musicians and VH1’s Save the Music Program.
Inda has been a fixture on the CMJ alternative charts, earned an AFIM “Best Independent Album” nomination, and garnered critical industry acclaim in publications such as Billboard and Relix.
Through it all, her DIY flag has flown majestically. She has her own music publishing company, Skin to the Wind Productions, and Inda has self-produced or co-produced many of her albums.
In 2010, Inda formally committed to sharing music with younger generations in school music programs with what has become Ideas to Inspire™, an arts-fostering organization that works to provide students with creative experiences through music, storytelling and self-expression. When not touring in support of her albums, Inda and her bandmates can be found traveling from one k-12 classroom to another supporting i2i programs across the country.
For album 8, however, Inda put the brakes on to ponder her winding path, thus far. “The road is a muse for me—the best way to ground ideas for me is a road trip. This album is kind of the shelter to process the trips I’ve been on,” she details.
Besides geographic travels, Shelter In Place is rife with coming of age themes couched in loss. Also threaded throughout the album is Inda’s multi-layered take on America. Inda was born in California and raised in Wyoming and Arizona, so one could say she deeply feels the heart of the heartland. She’s also a gay woman who married in 2011.
“I do come from the heartland, and identify so much as an American—it feels like anything is possible here. We are the best chance for hope,” Inda says. “I just get upset when we can’t get along.”