Eilidh (pronounced I-Lee) is a Scots-Gallic name meaning ‘ray of sunshine’. This Derry girl has been delighting audiences across the UK and the States for the last few years with her beautiful, captivating songs - truly a ray of sunshine to the soul.

Derry has often been called the Music City of Ireland and for Eilidh, there was no escape from music, particularly within her own family. Her first experience of singing in public was as a member of her family gospel music trio aptly called ‘The Patterson Family’. Here, she explored her love of harmony singing and became accustomed to performing on stage. When the family group disbanded in 2000, Eilidh started experimenting with songwriting and shortly afterwards joined The Foyle Folk Club, where her newly composed songs were received with great appreciation.

Fast forward to 2007 when Eilidh, having worked her way to becoming an accomplished singer/songwriter, released her first E.P. with the help of engineer and producer Alastair McMillan (Van Morrison, U2). ‘Still Learning’, the title track, is one of her most requested songs to date which describes her reaction to hearing the famous quote by Michaelangelo, “I am still learning.”

It wasn’t long before Eilidh was being offered opportunities to perform further afield and in March 2008, she was invited to sing in Nashville TN and at the SXSW Festival in Austin TX, to help promote the Sister City link between Belfast and Nashville. Two months later, she was invited back to the States, this time to Seattle WA, where she was the only non-American artist in attendance at an exclusive songwriting retreat in the North Cascade mountains.

Eilidh is now a regular visitor to Nashville (a.k.a. Music City, USA) where she co-writes, performs and meets with music industry professionals. On her most recent trip, she was asked by her friend and mentor, Beth Nielsen Chapman, to record harmonies on Chapman’s new album. In August 2009, she joined Beth on the Main Stage at the renowned Cambridge Folk Festival and in Jan 2010 they performed together at Celtic Connections in Glasgow.

All her experiences to date have been distilled into Eilidh’s debut album - the much anticipated When The Time Comes. “The title seems appropriate as this project has been a long time coming! I’m glad I waited to record my debut album. It has given me time to mature as an artist and I’ve made lots of friends over the past few years in the local and international music scene, who have helped make this dream come true.”

When The Time Comes is now available in HMV across N. Ireland and online via iTunes and CD Baby.