Biography

Emily Lord is a critically acclaimed and award-winning vocalist, songwriter, and performer. Whether she is performing her original songs or entertaining live audiences with her Rock/Country Variety Band, Emily Lord’s stunning and versatile lead vocals are the main event wherever she sings. Music critics celebrate her “rich, Americana-tinged vocal that’s both grit and polish,” while diverse pop, jazz, and classical organizations praise her live performances. KFOG Radio San Francisco named Emily one of the Bay Area’s top three Bruce Springsteen cover artists, The Collegiate Jazz Festival presented her their “Best Vocalist Award,” West Coast Songwriters Association bestowed upon her their “Best Performance” award, even The All Eastern States Choir lauded Emily Lord as a top classical vocalist. There is no studio smoke and mirror game when Emily Lord sings— she’s the real deal.

More than a singer, critics around the country have named Emily Lord the songwriter “an artist to watch” whose works are “worthy of a significant audience.” Performing Songwriter Magazine (130,000 copies circulated nationally) highlighted her most recent album of original music, Brand New Day, as one of their “Top 12 DIY (independent artist) Album” picks nationally. Brand New Day was also selected for national distribution by Redeye Records for sale in retail stores throughout the United States like Virgin Megastores, Tower Records, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and Amazon.com among others; an impressive accomplishment for any independent musician and a testament to her solid national fan base. Her original songs are featured in regular rotation on Music Choice digital cable reaching over two million households nationwide, independent feature films, public radio and commercial-pop radio stations like KFOG 104.5 FM San Francisco and KFOX 98.5 FM San Jose. Regionally, The West Coast Songwriters Association honored Emily with two “Best (original) Song” awards.

Emily Lord is also the lead vocalist and rhythm guitar anchor for The Emily Lord Band, a Rock/Country Variety Band that regularly performs at the San Francisco Bay Area’s finest festivals, fairs, and venues year after year. Clients rave that “Emily’s rapport with crowd is fabulous, and her band kept our City Plaza dancing for two hours straight.” The press describes Emily’s vocals to have “all the feeling of Melissa Etheridge, but with the vocal quality of Shawn Colvin” along with the soulful stage-energy of Bruce Springsteen. Her band’s extensive set list of cover songs and original music includes the likes of Shania Twain, John Cougar Mellencamp, Sheryl Crow, The Eagles, Bonnie Raitt, Fleetwood Mac, Faith Hill, Tom Petty, and Train, among others. In a community that often experiences frequent turnover of new members, The Emily Lord Band is a tight-knit performance ensemble that plays intuitively with each other, like a family on the stage. Each of Emily’s supporting band members has over 25 years of professional musical experience. The Emily Lord Band’s professionalism and beloved renditions of favorite hits makes them a favorite featured act throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

Emily Lord’s discography includes three full-length albums of original music, plus five compilation recordings. Her band traveled together to Austin, Texas in order to record Emily’s two most recent albums of original music, RearView Mirror and Brand New Day, with Grammy-nominated producer Mark Hallman. His production and engineering credits include albums with Carole King, Ani DiFranco, Shawn Colvin, and Eliza Gilkyson. Brand New Day is an upbeat Heartland-Rock collection of songs that reflects the struggles and joys of a generation of professional women who balance career, love, friendship, and motherhood. A twelve week promotional tour throughout thirteen states brought Emily face to face with her growing fan base around the country.

Prior to Brand New Day, Emily Lord released RearView Mirror, which added a bold country-rock edge to Emily’s acoustic style. RearView Mirror chronicles Emily’s roaring 20’s which included heartbreaks, worldwide adventures, riding motorcycles throughout her desert southwest Texan home, and service in the Armed Forces. Some of Emily Lord’s best loved songs emerged from this album, including “I Bet She” and “Quijote”, both recipients of West Coast Songwriter’s “Best Song” awards. As one fan wrote, “I’ve feel like I’ve grown up alongside Emily’s music every step of the way.”

Emily produced her debut recording of original music, Beginnings, during her undergraduate years at the University of Notre Dame. This introspective folk album has the feel of early indigo girls and 10,000 Maniacs music. The success of Beginnings, independently selling 2,000 copies on campus within five months, caught the attention of New York record scouts and the University administration, who named Emily one of its “Most Intriguing Seniors”. Although music would have to wait until her Army ROTC commitment finished, these successes inspired Emily to keep writing and performing music following college graduation while serving around the globe as an Army officer in Texas, Korea, and Saudi Arabia, and while working as a sales executive in the Silicon Valley.

Finally, Emily relocated to San Francisco in 2001. There she re-dedicated herself to music as a full-time profession and has never looked back. 2004 brought a “Brand New Day” for Emily as she and her husband welcomed their daughter into the world, who inspired the theme and lead track of Emily’s most recent record. With a clear vision for her future, Emily divides her time as a professional singer-songwriter & performing artist, wife, and mother raising her two children in San Francisco, California.

WRITE TO Emily Lord: emilylord@junglequeenrecords.com