Americana Musician, Songwriter, Visual Artist, Teacher, Father
Songwriter and musician Eric Bolander grew up in Eastern Kentucky in the foothills of Appalachia fishing in the creek, canoeing and four-wheeling with his cousins. Residing in Lexington, Ky., for most of his adult life, he says these early experiences with a “carefree,” “at-your-own-pace” lifestyle are present throughout his music, as are the people in his family and region who helped to form him.
“They all just effect who you are as you grow up and get older,” Bolander says. “They also effect who you are as an artist, because you want to paint or write a song about what you’ve seen, what you know, what you love, and sometimes, especially for me, some of the hurtful things, some of the deeper things that might connect with someone else that could help them.”
This is Bolander’s brand of Americana music: Melodies that feel like home and lyrics that don’t look away from the difficult parts of being human, alongside the joyful parts. Inspired by country, folk and Americana musicians such as John Williams, Keith Whitley, Dolly Parton, Gillian Welch, John Prine, John Moreland, Dallas Green and Ray Lamontagne, he also played in a rock and roll band for a number of years before going solo in 2014 and carries those influences with him, as well.
Bolander says his songwriting process starts with the mood of a song as he finds a chord progression on guitar or piano that interests him. Then he writes the melody and figures out what he thinks about as he hears the music to write the lyrics. Occasionally, he says he writes a song all in one setting.
He cites his song “Oh, Lord” as influential to himself and others. Written about a recurring dream he had in which his granny held his mom at a funeral while both of them cried, what upset him most about the dream was that he didn’t know whose funeral it was; within a span of a decade, he says his family and community had witnessed many devastating events and funerals. It means a lot to him that this song has helped others through difficult times as it did for him while writing it.
“I’ve had a handful of folks reach out to me, just complete strangers from states away, that that song helped them through some kind of addiction or loss of a family member. It’s like, that’s pretty powerful,” Bolander says. “When someone reaches out to say something like that or tells me in person, that’s pretty incredible, and I don’t take that stuff lightly at all.”
Bolander earned two bachelor’s degrees, one in painting and one in education at University of Kentucky, where he also began playing guitar, writing songs and playing music publicly. He earned his Master’s of Art in Education degree from the Art Academy of Cincinnati and Master’s of School Administration degree from Georgetown College. By day, he teaches visual art at Henry Clay High School and is also a father.
“It’s very rewarding to see students really succeed and find something … they’re just excited to tell you about,” Bolander says. “This is what I really want to do, to hear and encourage others.”
His next album, “Old Tattoo,” will release in November. Bolander says this album features lighthearted themes about love, as well as heavier themes about loss. The singles “One More Ride,” about his daughter, and “Strawberry Moon,” a love song, are out now. Bolander’s friend, artist Jimbo Valentine who made the album art for Tyler Childers’ album “Purgatory,” made the album art and created flash tattoos for each track on the back of Bolander’s record.
Bolander hopes through sharing music about difficult topics, he can help others going through a difficult experience, too.
“Hope is always somewhere in my songs, I think,” Bolander says.
Bolander will be at Scout Hall, 420 Broadway St. in Cape Girardeau, July 17 for a solo acoustic show, with doors at 6 p.m. and the show at 7 p.m. He’s looking forward to the listening room style of the show and talking with the audience about the songs he’ll share, gigs he says are often his favorite.
Get tickets for the show at thescouthall.com/events, and learn more about Bolander’s music at ericbolander.com.
