Winner, Arts Foundation Songwriting Award 2009

“In the vein of female artists such as KT Tunstall, Emily gave a heartfelt performance and her confident style resonated throughout the room. Her songs were genuine and poignant, striking a chord with the crowd.” XYZ Magazine

When Annie Lennox presented Emily with the Arts Foundation Award for Songwriting in January 2009, her passion and delivery; writing and performing great songs was being recognised.

'When I realised I felt a small pang of jealousy for how good one of these song-writers is - that was when I knew I'd found my winner.' (Arts Foundation Judge Vashti Bunyan).

2008 was a massive year for Emily, supporting Beth Rowley, Frank Turner and Gabriella Cilmi. Pete Doherty cited her as the person who first influenced him to pick up a guitar. Emily was reunited with Doherty, supporting him both at Bournemouth Opera House and Hackney Empire in 2008.

A restless soul, her songwriting career has evolved, naturally, into that of a recording artist. She’s now holed up in Orange Room studios, working with producer Colin Walker to deliver her long awaited debut album. The fact that the studio is also home to Carleen Anderson, one of the finest voices of UK soul, is no coincidence, as she has already remarked on Emily’s potential, noting: “she has a lovely voice and such beautiful songs.”

Once on stage, Emily is genuinely at home with the audience, be they unassuming passers-by or her fans she's picked up along the way. 

Emily’s skill is in balancing passionate storytelling with flashes of eccentricity between songs. Effortlessly melodic and memorable, she captures and captivates hugely diverse crowds. The driving force behind her commercial appeal remains simple: taking a slice of real life and sharing with a melody you'll never forget. 

This honest approach is already paying dividend, with invitations to perform at home and abroad, most notably a 6 week UK tour with Squeeze frontman Chris Difford, The Great Escape Festival in Brighton and Canada Music Week. 

For an unsigned singer-songwriter, this momentum helps signal the shape of things to come - a much demanded return to the delicate art of writing and performing songs that really matter.

by Will Page (PRS for Music).