Erin Enderlin sings like the heir to Patsy or Tammy, then writes like William Faulkner decided to pick up country music. People––some with big microphones––have noticed. CMT has called Enderlin “an utterly masterful songwriter,” while Rolling Stone praised her songs as “the stuff of country classics––concise, tear-stained, and all too relatable.” Enderlin has a knack for sharply drawn––and often sad––characters. Backsliders, avengers, lovers, and victims––they’re all in her critically acclaimed albums, including 2019’s Faulkner County that Rosanne Cash heard, loved, and sent to her friend Elton John. His response was to invite Enderlin onto his podcast, Rocket Hour.
“The album is fantastic,” John said on the show. “She’s a brand new country artist––well, new to me––that I absolutely love. Wow, I do love her voice, and that whole album is very, very special.”
Regardless of the medium, stories are Enderlin’s anchor. She remains a go-to writer for contemporary stars, roots music heavyweights, and legends. Over 50 of her songs have been recorded by artists including Lee Ann Womack, Willie Nelson, Reba, Muscadine Bloodline, Luke Bryan and more. “I’ve been so fortunate to have my songs connect with so many artists I admire, from 20 years ago with Alan Jackson, to today with The War &Treaty,” Enderlin says. “There’s something really vulnerable and extraordinary about having your work interpreted by such powerful storytellers.”
Then, there is film and TV, mediums that may still be relatively new to Enderlin, but are also unquestionably ideal vehicles for her unnerving ability to explore empathy and humanity with breathtaking grace. With her longtime collaborator Jim Moose Brown and actor-songwriter Jeff Fahey, Enderlin wrote “Blood in the River,” the theme song for The Gray House, a highly anticipated new miniseries produced by heavyweights Morgan Freeman, Lori McCreary, Kevin Costner, and Leslie Grief. The War & Treaty perform the song, and three other Enderlin-penned songs for the series were recorded by Willie Nelson, Larkin Poe, and a duet by Drake Milligan and Shania Twain.
Enderlin has long since proven she’s a gut-punching performer. She’s toured with Willie Nelson, Sunny Sweeney, Jamey Johnson, and more. Enderlin’s own shows are mesmerizing, well-suited to discerning listening rooms and bigger––rowdier––stages alike. She loves playing live, not just because of the connection it offers, but because of each performance’s singularity that can’t ever be replicated again. “There’s a magic to the fact that it’s a one-time thing,” Enderlin explains. “Every time you play a song, you’re in that one moment. Every crowd is a specific crowd in a specific town. It’s kind of its own universe.”
That appreciation for nuance and respect for each moment’s possibility has endeared Enderlin to generations not just of music fans, but of her fellow artists and prestigious institutions. In 2020, the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum included Enderlin in their annual American Currents exhibit. Another legacy organization that has recognized Enderlin’s artistic mettle? The Grand Ole Opry. As of 2025, Enderlin has played the Opry 26 times. That stage will always be sacred ground for her––the home of the art she’s devoted her life to creating and honoring. “Growing up, the Opry was a big part of why I fell in love with music––and country music in particular,” Enderlin says. “That was always the biggest dream: to play the Opry.”
Enderlin is currently working on her next full-length album with Sunny Sweeney & Harley Husbands producing. She and Sweeney will also be joining country music icon Trisha Yearwood on her 2025 tour.
Enderlin will be appearing on the Homestake Opera House stage for an intimate, acoustic, one-night show on September 26, 2025! Check out our events page to learn more and purchase tickets!
