Eli Cook is a student of music. He’s a sponge, soaking up the elements of the past and putting together a sound that’s even more relevant now. Eli is a brilliant guitar player, inspired by the blues greats of the distant, pre-World War II past. But his voice, his sound, and his songs come from the present. He draws a direct line from the music of the early 1900s with the grunge sound of the 1990s. And it works. His talents have taken him all over the country, opening for such legends as B.B. King and Taj Mahal. His reverence for those blues masters pours out of him when he talks, but his sound is all his own.

In this episode of For Songs, Eli takes me through a musical trip to the past, up the Mississippi River, all the way to Seattle and back to the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains. Buckle up, for this a helluva ride.