By Chris Struck for Cabaret Scenes
"(Eliana May) Kraut, at 15, turned into the biggest surprise of the evening due to the developed nature of her lyrical structure and song style. She held her own amidst performers that were likely 40 to 50 years her senior, writing introspective songs about forgiving exes and capturing the moment. While her greatest skill was likely her ability to write short lines within sentences that ended in rhyming signatures, she did also bring a good voice and strong guitar to the table. My favorite example: “For a split second in time, the past is all behind. Before reality finds me, I forget how to be angry.”
By Polly Kreisman for The Larchmont Loop
"Eliana (May) Kraut of Larchmont started writing songs when she was 8. Not that surprising, when you consider that her mother, Melanie Kraut, trained as a classical soprano, and worked in New York and Los Angeles on stage and TV.
Not to mention the fact that together, the two of them are basically irresistible.
Now 12, and a 7th Grader at Hommocks, Eliana is writing songs with a country/pop influence, both by herself and with Neil Herman, another Larchmont resident, who was a professional songwriter in Nashville. She has already played in New York, and set her sights on a music career.
Sooner Than I Think was written by Nicole Alifante, Neil Herman, Eliana Kraut and Melanie Kraut. The video was directed and filmed by Adam Reist of Coastline Productions, also a Larchmont resident.
“It was one of those magical songs that wrote itself because it is so personal,” says Melanie. “Ironically because it is so personal to us, it is universal. The feedback we have been getting is amazing.”