Artist Information
Rolling Stone once named EmiSunshine among “10 new country artists you need to know,” but she is more than country. 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, WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour, Song of the Mountains, the Grand Ole Opry and elsewhere. In 2018, she was featured in the Grammy-nominated (for soundtrack) Elvis Presley documentary film The King, for which she wrote and performed two original songs—“Johnny, June and Jesus” and “Danny Ray.”
With 10 albums released under her own name and guest appearances on other projects, EmiSunshine’s evolution as a singer, songwriter and musician is on full display. Her critically acclaimed 2019 album, FAMILY WARS, produced by 4-time Grammy-winner Tony Brown, received outstanding reviews in leading music publications, with No Depression describing Emi as “bold and talented enough to tackle today’s issues while honoring yesterday’s folk traditions” and American Songwriter calling her “wise beyond her years.” Her latest album, SIDESHOW, explores themes of lost love, diversity, self-confidence and more.
Emi began writing songs at the age of 5 with help from her mother, Alisha Hamilton, with whom she still regularly writes. She has also written with other acclaimed songwriters, including Jim Lauderdale, Vicky McGehee, the late Kyle Jacobs, Leslie Satcher, Marla Cannon-Goodman, Matraca Berg and more. In 2020, she collaborated with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame funk music legend Bootsy Collins on the song “Stars” to benefit the Recording Academy’s MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund.
EmiSunshine has headlined her own concerts throughout the United States and has also opened for the likes of Loretta Lynn, Rhonda Vincent, Vince Gill, Tanya Tucker and other leading artists. In 2019, she received the ASCAP Foundation Desmond Child Anthem Award for musical excellence and in 2023 was named Independent Entertainer of the Year by the Young Entertainer Awards Foundation in Los Angeles.
