The Steamboat Pilot & Today

On her Web site, local musician Carrie Elkin confesses that she is passionate about music, but there are a "million other things" she likes to do.

She lists her talents as a chemist, a project manager and a marketing professional. But perhaps she also should list "multitasking guru" for mastering the organization of students, administrators and professional performance artists at Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School and Camp in Steamboat Springs.

Elkin is the blond, pixie whirlwind of an office manager at Perry-Mansfield. She also is a powerful singer and songwriter with three self-released albums.

"Nothing else makes sense to me like music does. Music makes me whole," Elkin writes.

This weekend, the Cleveland native will be showing off some of her soulful, artistic glue for Steamboat, her adopted hometown. Elkin is the opening act for the free Sonia Dada concert Saturday on Headwall, then she follows up with a grand finale performance on the main stage at Art in the Park on Sunday.

"Opening for Sonia Dada is pretty incredible. I love their music. I respect them as musicians," Elkin said.

Elkin said she is more excited than nervous to open for such a big-name headliner on one of Steamboat's busiest summer weekends.

"I've played in front of large crowds before," Elkin said. "It's been a while, though."

Elkin said she tours throughout the year, having made Steamboat her home base for the past three years. She will be playing her original acoustic music this weekend along with folk and contemporary songs -- recorded on her spring 2004 release, "The Waltz" -- from the likes of John Prine, Dar Williams and Brian Wilson.

She classifies her music as "acoustic folk funk" and says her favorite instrument is the voice. But when it comes to songwriting, Elkin is straight from the heart.

"It's a bit difficult to explain. It's definitely relationship-based, personal," Elkin said.

Perhaps she explains it best in the words she writes on carrieelkin.com.

"People understand me through the notes that come out of my mouth, and off my fingertips when I strum a guitar. My music works because it's real. It's my heart. Music comes from the bottom of my toes. It's not forced, not the music. It's my life."