Emily Hurd

I met Emily Hurd and Vonda Shepard through my work promoting Jann Klose all these years.  It was a co-bill at Chicago's Skokie Theater.   She seemed like a female Randy Newman, with elements of Nanci Griffith a young Olivia Newton-John, and Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore).  She loves fry boots, animals, yoga.  She's rescued dogs. Her video for the title track of her new album, LONG LOST GHOSTS. 

Emily wants to stay on the road no matter how much or little money she makes. I'm looking for shows, co-bills, openers, house concerts from the Midwest on out, on the East coast, West coast, the South.

We're having a record release party on January 14 at Strobe Studios, Chicago! Admission is $10. Seating is limited, and people must RSVP to attend via e-mail at contact@emilyhurd.com.

EMILY HURD BIO

A little over a year in the making, Long Lost Ghosts is the album Emily Hurd’s fans have been waiting for, featuring her signature voice and folk-pop songs that tell stories of old-fashioned love and its bittersweet triumph. Highlights include the irresistible blues-tinged hit, "Irreparably Yours" and the palpable nostalgia of the cross-country driving tune "Long Lost Ghosts." Emily's fervent crooning uplifts in "My Favorite Part," "Silent Conversations," and "I Won't Tell a Soul." For the first time in a long time, she trades in her regular heartbreaker imagery for a welcome dose of contentment in "Brand New," "Skipping Stones," and "Easy Call." The songsmith sings it like she feels it.

Over the course of her eight full-length studio albums, Emily's singer-songwriter stylings have effortlessly fused pure vocals and chillingly sparse music with chamber pop, indie soul, and gypsy jazz. On Long Lost Ghosts, she does what she does best: combining acoustic instruments and vivid nature metaphors—singing of winter wheat, crickets, gravel roads, and skylarks—to connect with her audience.

The lilt in her voice is as endearing as ever, and the support of her backing band enhances without distracting from the delicate and hopeful vibe that has come to define Emily Hurd’s music.

Lush vocals, vibrant acoustic production, and tones of defiant optimism run through all the songs on Long Lost Ghosts, echoing the uptempo balladry and intelligent anthems, often linked to kindred troubadours Lyle Lovett and Steve Earle. Emily wrote the songs on her ukulele and recorded them on the vintage grand piano at Chicago’s King Size Sound Labs. The record features an all-star line-up of Chicago musicians: John Abbey (Robbie Fulks, Amy Speace), Darren Garvey (Cameron McGill and What Army, Miles Nielsen), Sue Demel (Sons of the Never Wrong, Come Sunday), and Maria McCullough (Sleepy Lou, Jonas Friddle).

Emily Hurd is an inspirational national indie act, performing for growing pockets of loyal followers who revel in her ample cache of new and old original songs. She's shared the stage and/or opened for Irma Thomas, Bettye Lavette, Roger McGuinn, and Ozomatli. Her music is featured on the popular CBS crime drama NCIS. She plays live on WGN TV and radio, WXRT radio, amongst other acclaimed Chicago music institutions. She appears on the prestigious Old Town School of Folk Music "Songbook" collection (released by Bloodshot Records). She is a winner/finalist in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, NPR's NewSong Contest, and The International Songwriting Competition.

Her supporters in the Southeast run the annual “Emilyfest” in an open barn down in a holler of rural North Carolina. The big skies and high country grass at Emilyfest serve as the perfect backdrop for her fans to listen and lose themselves for a while in her inimitable lyrics. Just listen...

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