Acoustic guitar-picker Eric Carlson of Santa Fe, NM plays original and traditional folk-music with old-time roots and some bluegrass seasoning as well as instrumental acoustic guitar music from throughout the world. Santa Fe is home to a rich diversity of first-class international musicians, as well as a surprisingly lively old-time music scene, offering a great deal of knowledge and inspiration that Eric draws from. He performs regularly in Santa Fe and throughout the Southwest both solo, with his band, and as a member of other groups as well. His latest CD “The Ship in the Sky” contains original and traditional songs and instrumentals that explore a recurrent oceanic theme amid the desert southwest. Though seafaring music in the desert may seem ironic, the grand vistas and broad horizons of the ocean and the southwest landscape have a lot in common. They share a vast, humbling, and moody spirit. Perhaps the new CD speaks to a deep memory of the ocean that we all share regardless of where we live. All life began in the sea after all, and some would say that it still runs through our veins, our blood having a salinity remarkably similar to that of the ocean. The land itself in the high desert retains the memory of the ocean that once lay above it long ago. One can find ancient marine fossils from the desert of Southern New Mexico to the peaks of the Rocky Mountains. Indeed, bluegrass legend Peter Rowan once sung “In the high desert mountains, I dream of the sea, dream of the sea…” The CD also explores another recurrent theme, to borrow from the Obama campaign, of a hopeful vision amid dark times. Examples include Bob Dylan’s “When the Ship Comes In”, the title track, and “Oh Ms. Bushee!”. “I was a founding member of the Santa Fe Buskers’ Alliance, and I wrote Ms. Bushee after the City Council agreed to decriminalize busking (street performance) in Santa Fe,” Eric says. “City Councilor Patti Bushee was particularly resistant to the idea, but bless her heart, I think she’s coming around.” The CD features local Santa Fe musicians Hillary Schacht on violin and harmony vocals, Michael Lawless on mandolin, Richard Hardy on bass and mandolin, Michael Sheppard on dobro, and Eric’s lovely wife Heather on harmony vocals. "Carlson and his ensemble prove themselves seaworthy messengers of bluegrassy Americana goodness." -Rob DeWalt, Santa Fe New Mexican, Pasatiempo "Carlson has caught a long ago past with simplicity on Ship." -Kyle Eustice and Patricia Sauthoff - Santa Fe Reporter For booking please email carlson@cybermesa.com.