Elke Robitaille

Growing up in an isolated, coastal town of British Columbia, Canada, Elke Robitaille spent her formative years playing guitar and writing songs inspired by the dreams she had of exploring the world beyond her small town. At 18, with guitar in hand, she boarded a southbound train headed for Los Angeles to start a new creative chapter that would propel her into a professional music career as a singer-songwriter and folk artist.

Over the span of a decade, with a determined DIY mentality, Robitaille attended the renowned Musicians Institute in Hollywood, California; completed two national independent tours of the United States and Canada; released three full-length studio albums; and fulfilled a four-month performance contract with Princess Cruises. Throughout her career, Robitaille has played at venues ranging from farmers markets and festivals; to house concerts and fundraisers – performing in 25 States and 6 Provinces in Canada. A few notable stages have included: Pacific National Exhibition (Vancouver, BC), Hotel Café (Los Angeles), and Rose Festival (Portland). Her music has received international radio airplay, and has been featured in various publications including Music Connection, I’m Music Magazine, The Wyoming Tribune, and PQ Monthly.

Currently based in Portland, Oregon, Robitaille’s songwriting influence has evolved from simplistic folk-rock into a more sophisticated sound, incorporating elements of Americana, Bluegrass, and Alt-Country, all of which can be heard on In The End (2016) – the fourth studio release from Elke Robitaille. This six-track EP features a dynamic assortment of original songs, showcasing a subtle yet polished production quality, and highlighting an array of traditional folk instrumentation including acoustic guitar, fiddle, mandolin, and pedal steel. In The End boasts a talented medley of studio musicians including: Timothy Snider (Medicine For The People), JP Downer (Christian Burghardt), and Beak Wing (Rosi Golan; Carina Round). After releasing the new EP, Elke partnered with Totem Entertainment to release an official music video for the first single: “Wait For Me”

Elke may not travel by train as much as she used to, but this troubadour can be found touring regularly around the Pacific Northwest, Midwest, Canada, and Southern regions – still driven by her desire to explore the world through music.