If you turn your mind back about ten years, you may recall the emergence of a powerhouse singer and entertainer, EmiSunshine, who exploded onto the acoustic music scene at nine years old. A precocious performer with an onstage personality twice her size, Emi became a popular act on the Americana scene, with her playing her ukulele and belting out classic songs with her band, The Rain, made up of members of her family.
She’s appeared more than a dozen times on the Grand Ole Opry, as well as American Idol, Little Big Shots, and the Today show on television.
All grown up now at 19, Miss Emi has recently released her first bluegrass album, full of songs she has written. A few had been recorded on her earlier albums, but now get the mature treatment on Sideshow.
Her music had always touched on bluegrass, but she says that she feels that now is the right time to dive in with both feet.
“It’s a way of giving back to the fans who have been here for the long haul. So many have been asking me to record a bluegrass album. It’s the kind of music I grew up on. I heard Ralph Stanley sing O Death at MerleFest when I was real young, and it stopped everyone in their tracks. Standing there in the crowd, I felt that reverence to my core. There were others who influenced me, like Marty Stuart, Patty Loveless, and so many more.”
The Rain provides support on Sideshow, including her father, Randall Hamilton, brother John Hamilton, Uncle Bobby Hill, and singer/songwriter Fish Fisher. Additional studio guests were Wyatt Ellis on mandolin, Justin Moses on fiddle, guitar, and reso-guitar, and Addie Levy on fiddle and mandolin.
A music video is available for her current single, The Boy I Never Loved, a bluesy grasser about a man who left a young woman with a baby. It carries a bit of the female empowerment vibe so common in today’s popular music.
Check it out…
The Boy I Never Loved, and the full Sideshow album, are available now from popular download and streaming services online. Audio CDs and vinyl LPs can be purchased directly from the artist.
