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From a first glance, Eli Fox might seem like a normal 20-year-old college student at Belmont University. For Fox, though, his college story isn’t one that fits the normal narrative. Not only does Fox have a college school load on his plate, but he balances life in the music industry on top of it, hoping that one day the hard work will translate to a career on stage and in studios.  

Listening to Fox’s music, listeners might be refreshingly surprised to discover that his sound isn’t one that falls into an everyday genre heard today on radios and by younger artists. Fox’s passion for music was introduced to him before his teenage years, as he noted the first instrument he picked up was a banjo.  

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call Eli Fox an adolescent prodigy. At the tender age of 20, he’s already a veteran musician, courtesy of an early album, EP, and his newest effort, “Or Something Like That,” which was released last month. With an interest in making music that began in his early teens, he’s nothing if not prodigious, as affirmed by the fact that he plays 10 instruments and writes all his own material.

East Tennessee’s Eli Fox is the latest artist to show that remarkable proficiency; at age 18, he’s setting his sites on college and, equally importantly, boasting his full length musical debut, the ironically dubbed Tall Tales. The follow up to an initial EP that came out last year, it finds Fox taking his cue from traditional Americana and, most strikingly, the wit and rapport of early Bob Dylan.

Singer-songwriter Eli Fox, who recently graduated from the Webb School of Knoxville and made his bones as the co-founder of bluegrass band Subtle Clutch, strikes most people who see him perform as a reincarnation of a young Dylan. From his vocal delivery to his staccato work on a harmonica rig while his thumb rolls across the banjo, he’s an ideal choice for the all-star tribute, although any sort of comparison is shrugged off by the young musician in his characteristic aw-shucks fashion.

Saying Eli Fox is low key is an understatement. In conversation, the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist doesn’t seem like a young man who would be so comfortable when he gets up on stage.

We are excited to announce the 5th Annual Big Kahuna Wing Festival music lineup! We welcome The West King String Band, The Coveralls, The Stella Vees, and Crawlspace with special guest, 17yr old Eli Fox as part of our live music for this year’s festival.

Eli Fox will be joining us for the Camperfest Reunion! Camperfest Reunion celebrates the iconic WDVX 14ft Camper Broadcast Studio that started it all in 1997 and the Camperfest Americana Music Festival, which happened from 1998 – 2007. 

Eli Fox is one of those overachievers; at age seventeen he’s already got an old soul, as his self-produced debut EP Nothing To Say makes convincingly clear. Having found his footing in bluegrass, honky tonk and classic country, he fits comfortably into a niche that suggests perhaps he’s one of Hank Williams’ lost offspring, especially on a song like “Where Do You Go?” where he emulates Hank’s down home rambleand earthier instincts. 

Although he may have been the youngest performer there, Eli Fox & Band was never wet behind the ears. He started the festival with his signature fusion style of bluegrass and Americana music past, present, and future while coming-of-age inspired group, A Boy Named Banjo took us on a musical journey and played songs straight from their new EP. 

Eli Fox's debut album is called "Nothing to Say ...," but that's probably because Fox lets his music do most of the talking.

At only 17, Fox has been a part of the acoustic band Subtle Clutch, which played on a main stage of the Rhythm N' Blooms festival and opened Waynestock in 2015, and, more recently, has been performing as a solo artist. He plays at least seven instruments — and there might be more by next week. He's also a rising senior at Webb School of Knoxville.

It’s time to get back to the Wild Wing Café for another Early Bird Special, and this is indeed special. I am going to go way out on a limb—birds can do that you know—and declare that Knoxville’s own Eli Fox will be a nationally recognized recording artist.