From small-town roots to center stage, Cruz Contreras follows the pull of music
Cruz Contreras didn’t set out to be a frontman. “I just wanted to be a piano player and take a solo now and again,” he says. But life had other plans—plans shaped by family, growth, reinvention, and a deepening connection to music. “I found my people. I found my tribe. And it was music.”
Cruz was born in Michigan, though his family roots stretch from Texas to Mexico. “My great grandfather moved [to Texas]… he founded a blacksmith livery in downtown Houston,” he says. Growing up in the small, close-knit town of Bridgman, where “you kind of knew everybody” Cruz thrived in music and sports. When the family moved to Tennessee for his dad’s job, however, everything changed.
The new environment pushed Cruz to adapt quickly. “All of a sudden, if I wanted to compete, I had to move twice as fast, and I had to go twice as hard.” He had gone from being “a big fish in a pond” to navigating a larger high school with unfamiliar social groups and a new level of intensity on the field and court. But when his parents got him a guitar at age 15, music quickly became a lifeline.
“I spent my high school years knowing I wanted to be a professional musician, working and honing the craft.”
At the University of Tennessee, Cruz studied jazz piano under Donald Brown. “He always knew that I was capable and would be able to find my own way and make my own sound,” he says. That influence helped shape his musical vision. “I always dreamt there could be a mandolin player that was as good as the great jazz players.”
That path included early work with Robinella and the CC String Band and, later, the formation of The Black Lillies, a name that was chosen after the first album was made. And it wasn’t just creative—it was personal.
“I was very apprehensive about putting my own name on anything,” Cruz says. “Confidence, self-worth, lack of self-love… all that stuff.” Creating a band name gave him room to grow without standing fully in the spotlight. Over 10 years and five albums, the group played nearly 2,000 shows across the country. It was a successful run, but behind the music, the business was breaking down.
In 2023, Cruz released his first solo album, Cosmico, and last year began billing shows as Cruz Contreras and The Black Lillies, combining the two ventures together.
Today, Cruz is producing, mentoring, and heading out on another summer tour, supported by his wife Molly and his kids. “I’m just out there to do my own thing,” he says.
To follow Cruz’s journey and see where he’s playing next, head to cruzcontreras.com.
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