Rolling Stone once named EmiSunshine among “10 new country artists you need to know,” but she is more than that. With a style described as “old-timey,” the East Tennessee native performs her own unique contemporary blend of roots music that is equal parts Americana, Bluegrass, Gospel, Blues and Jazz.
Known for her powerful voice and masterful ukulele-playing, the 19-year-old singer/songwriter has been attracting national attention since she was 9 years old, with appearances on Today, NBC’s Little Big Shots, American Idol, Pickler & Ben, Song of the Mountains, WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour the Grand Ole Opry and elsewhere. In 2018, she was featured in the Grammy-nominated Elvis Presley documentary film The King, for which she wrote and performed two original songs—“Johnny, June and Jesus” and “Danny Ray.” In 2019, she received the prestigious ASCAP Foundation Desmond Child Anthem Award for musical excellence.
With nine albums released under own name and guest appearances on other projects, EmiSunshine is now preparing to release her first Bluegrass album, SIDESHOW, with her family band The Rain (father Randall Hamilton, brother Johnathon Hamilton, and Uncle Bobby Hill). Though she has recorded Bluegrass-tinged songs in the past, the new project is her first complete Bluegrass album, featuring guest performances by 3-time IBMA winner Justin Moses, mandolin prodigy Wyatt Ellis, Cruz Contreras of The Black Lillies, and Nashville multi-instrumentalist Addie Levy.
“So many fans have been asking me to record a Bluegrass album,” she says. “It’s the kind of music I grew up on, and it has been such a huge influence on me, ever since I heard Ralph Stanley sing ‘O Death’ at Merlefest when I was real young. It stopped everyone in their tracks. I felt that reverence to my core.”
Emi has opened for, or shared the stage with the likes of Loretta Lynn, Rhonda Vincent, Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Tanya Tucker and more. She began writing songs at the age of 5 with help from her mother, Alisha Hamilton, with whom she still regularly writes. Many of her songs deal with serious themes like domestic violence and addiction, but she is equally drawn to uplifting stories that celebrate equality and offer encouragement to anyone facing challenges in life.
Emi regularly co-writes with other acclaimed songwriters, including Jim Lauderdale, Vicky McGehee, Leslie Satcher, Marla Cannon-Goodman, and more. In 2020, she collaborated with Grammy-winning funk music legend Bootsy Collins on the song “Stars” to benefit the Recording Academy’s MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund.
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