Review and words by: Bailey Zeigler
I’m not sure what I initially expected but it definitely wasn’t the show I ended up seeing. The night of the show I was dead tired and didn’t really feel like going to a crazy rock or pop show after a rough week that was only leading into finals. All I really wanted to do was to curl up at home and relax with a glass of wine.
A crazy and energetic show was not how I wanted to spend my night, but in fact, I got exactly what I wanted. It was a nice quiet night sipping wine – only I got to sit in the luxurious venue (City Winery – Nashville) listening to some of the sweetest sounding songs I’ve ever heard. Emily Hearn is a fantastic singer-songwriter that is definitely worth checking out if you are keen on that style music. Needless to say, her live show completely sold me.
I have never felt more at ease at show in my entire life. I think there is a consensus that a show has to be loud and crazy in order for it to be worthwhile. Emily, thankfully, proved me wrong. If I’m having rough day (or week like in this case), it’s really hard for me to get excited about a show since I would much rather introvert with my good friend Netflix. Though I kind of dragged my feet, it was more than worth it.
Emily and her one-man band/husband, Michael, are adorable to watch. A lot of the talking in-between songs is them bantering and Emily telling the stories of how she (or she and Michael) found the inspiration for the particular song. She only played six songs but they had enough to differentiate them while still being tied together through Emily’s sweet style (both vocally and lyrically).
The performance was simple with just a guitar, a keyboard, two vocalists; which meshed perfectly with her style. She kept everyone engaged in a way similar to Sarah Bareilles does. Everyone was sitting and still. No one wanted to take away or distract from her performance or miss anything themselves.
Even off stage, she is the nicest person. Like many artists who are trying to grow their following, Hearn met with her fans after the performance at her merch table. She talked to everyone who stopped by to meet her and really won over some new fans. Each person she talked with had a song she performed that resonated with him or her on extremely personal levels and they hadn’t even heard of this girl an hour ago! Emily has the uncanny ability to resonate with many different people on a variety of levels, which is what music is really all about at the end of the day.
Overall, the show was fantastic, but if watching acoustic, singer-songwriter music isn’t your jam; you may want to check elsewhere. I loved the show and think that she is definitely someone to keep an eye out for in the future because she has a lot of talent, emotion, and grace that many artists couldn’t pull off without crazy production value. She is the epitome of what it’s like to be an artist who is genuinely themselves, and the world definitely needs more of those
