Multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter, and producer Cruz Contreras has roots in Tennessee and Michigan but has impacted Americana music worldwide.
The frontman, founder, and driving force behind The Black Lillies’ raw and rootsy sound also co-founded Robinella and the CCstringband, and has collaborated with musicians ranging from John Oates and Jim Lauderdale to Langhorne Slim and The Turnpike Troubadours. His projects have topped both the Billboard and Americana radio charts, won Independent Music Awards, and been nominated for the Americana Music Association’s Emerging Artist of the Year award. Contreras is currently performing as a solo act and has been recently collaborating with cellist Dave Eggar, fiddle player Billy Contreras, and wife Molly Contreras.
Cruz has appeared on nationally broadcasted television including Late Night with Conan O’Brien, CMT, VH-1, GAC, Bluegrass Underground, and PBS Television’s Sun Studio Sessions. His music has been lauded by outlets as diverse as American Songwriter Magazine, Rolling Stone, NPR’s Morning Edition, and Vanity Fair, among others. Contreras is currently at work on his debut solo album, Cosmico, to be released in 2021.