![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773849761_478_.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nWhen he was around 6, Elijah Delgado started writing songs \u2014 at least in his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would be like \u2014 Mom, I’ve got a song coming on and I need you to write it down for me,\u201d he said after band practice earlier this month at the Orb Recording Studios in Southwest Austin. \u201cThey were just kind of nonsensical words and lyrics.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Courtesy of the Delgado family<\/p>\n
Elvia Delgado says her son, Elijah, was a performer early on. <\/p>\n
Lyrics like: \u201cI want to rock the city down \/ Down into the underground.\u201d<\/p>\n
His mom, Elvia Delgado, kept all his early songs in binder. She said she knew early on he would be a musician. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe was probably about 3 and already had just a knack for performing and turning any object into a microphone,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Neither of his parents are professional musicians, but Delgado grew up with music and instruments in the house. He picked up a guitar before he could wrap his hand around the neck.<\/p>\n
When he got a little older, his father taught him some basic chords.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would draw little figures, you know, hand figures for him on, hey, this is what a C chord looks like and this is a D chord looks,\u201d Gabe Delgado said.<\/p>\n
In his early teens, Delgado started busking on South Congress, playing songs in front of Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d sit there with my case open and play covers and the little originals I had at the time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Now 23, he has an EP coming out this summer. And after growing up going to South by Southwest as a music fan, he played his first official showcase this year.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773849762_349_.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Courtesy of the Delgado family<\/p>\n
Delgado picked up a guitar as soon as his hands could hold one. <\/p>\n
A celebration of hard work<\/p>\n
Delgado said performing live is the culmination of countless hours of writing and rehearsing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just feels like a celebration of all the work that I \u2014 and we \u2014 have put into it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Delgado calls his music indie rock lullabies. The songs are emotion-driven and melodic. His voice sometimes ethereal. He said he writes personally but vague enough for people to connect in their own ways.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can do that then it\u2019s a success,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s what makes me feel fulfilled and remember why I\u2019m doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elik Jazdzewski plays bass in Delgado\u2019s backing band. He said the band members have chemistry and it\u2019s fun to play together. All the work is worth it when you see the crowd\u2019s response.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s very gratifying when you’re at a show to see that reaction happen to people, to see people jump around, to see people smile, to see people cry, to see people sing along with you,\u201d he said. \u201cYou get to see that result.\u201d<\/p>\n
Overkill (cover) Elijah Delgado<\/p>\n
Delgado remembers seeing bands when he was young and wondering how they made it. He still can\u2019t answer that for himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter the show, it\u2019s never lost on me how grateful I am,\u201d he said. \u201cI just kind of found myself in this position.\u201d<\/p>\n
Delgado wasn’t just looking forward to performing at South By. He planned to network and go to conference sessions on building his career, meet with potential mentors and have his music critiqued.<\/p>\n
He said he was open to whatever comes from it.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, you’re just doing something because you love it and want to and you kind of hope that things come from it,\u201d he said, \u201cbut even if it doesn’t, we get to hang out and play together.\u201d<\/p>\n
A SXSW success<\/p>\n
When Delgado takes the stage at Lefty\u2019s Brick Bar on Monday night, the crowd is sparse at first \u2014 mostly friends and family. It\u2019s chilly and the heat lamps are glowing.<\/p>\n
But the patio of the East Sixth Street venue slowly fills up, and Delgado urges folks to move closer to the stage. Heads are bobbing. Bodies are swaying. People yell out his name between songs. The band plays for about 45 minutes to kick off an official showcase of Austin musicians.<\/p>\n
![\"Elik](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773849762_276_.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Delgado laughs with his band during soundcheck before Monday’s show. From left: Elik Jazdzewski, Delgado, Evan Anderson, Ibra Martinez and Sammy Flores.<\/p>\n
After the show, Raul Torres said he listened to one of Delgado\u2019s songs before coming out, but wasn’t familiar with him. He just wanted to support local artists.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am just really grateful to catch him today,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m also looking forward to where he’s going in the future because there’s so much talent. His voice and the blend of the genres is so unique, and I just think he’s definitely gonna make it big.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Delgado packed up his gear, he said he was happy with the show.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like I expressed myself in a way that I wanted to, and I think people received it well,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was a great turnout.\u201d<\/p>\n
His first South By in the books, he can now focus on his upcoming EP \u2014 starting with a new single coming out Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When he was around 6, Elijah Delgado started writing songs \u2014 at least in his head. \u201cI would…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":209971,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,44783,133,82290,82291,82292,31186,2971,2970,216],"class_list":["post-209970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-musicians","tag-austin-news","tag-elijah-delgado","tag-leftys-brick-bar","tag-official-showcase","tag-singer-songwriter","tag-south-by-southwest","tag-sxsw-2026","tag-tx"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209970\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/209971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}