Miss Emily

The County's own Miss Emily takes the Sergeants Mess Hall Stage at Base31 on Friday, July 5.

In February of 2020, only days after Miss Emily celebrated the Maple Blues triple crown of Female Vocalist, New Artist and Sapphire Blues Video of the year, the world shut down. You could still hear the roar of the crowd as the door slammed shut on performances, recording and almost everything else in the music industry. For the first time in two decades, Miss Emily had an empty calendar. With no frame of reference for pandemics or lockdowns, it took some time to understand what the next steps should be. Somewhere between virtual shows and long nights sequestered in the music room, an idea began to take shape. Of the many cancelled shows, perhaps the most disappointing loss was a return to the venue that had become a second home; The Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts in her adopted hometown of Kingston. After six sellout, foundation-rattling shows, fans, band, and team members alike had been looking forward to extending the streak. In a moment of reminiscence and sadness, it occurred to Emily that she had professional recordings from each show at the Isabel. That’s nearly ten albums worth of songs.

Photo Credit: Suzy Lamont