Emily Rodgers is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She is signed to

Shimmy-Disc Shimmy Disc is a New York City-based independent record label founded in 1987 by Mark Kramer. Before it was sold to the Knitting Factory, artists like Bongwater, Daniel Johnston, Fly Ashtray, Galaxie 500, King Missile, Boredoms, Ruins, Ween, Gwar, ...

, which is owned and operated by noted indie producer Kramer, with whom she has worked for over a decade. Her music has been compared to

Cat Power Charlyn Marie "Chan" Marshall ( ; born January 21, 1972), better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and model. Cat Power was originally the name of her first band, but has become her stage name as a ...

Mazzy Star Mazzy Star is an American alternative rock band formed in 1988 in Santa Monica, California, from remnants of the group Opal. Founding member David Roback's friend Hope Sandoval became the group's vocalist when Kendra Smith left Opal. Mazzy Star ...

Cowboy Junkies Cowboy Junkies are an alternative country and folk rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1985 by Alan Anton (bassist), Michael Timmins (songwriter, guitarist), Peter Timmins (drummer) and Margo Timmins (vocalist). The three Timminses ...

, Songs: Ohia, and Tara Jane O’Neil. Rodgers grew up in Elkhart, Indiana, and attended

Goshen College Goshen College is a Private college, private Mennonite Church USA, Mennonite Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Goshen, Indiana. It was founded in 1894 as the Elkhart Institute of Science, Industry and the Arts, ...

, where she studied English and began writing music and performing. In 2003, she moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she honed her craft and began performing in earnest. She released her first album in 2005, which was described as “post-rural, ethereal alt-country drenched in primo melancholy and reverb”. In 2008, Rodgers was approached by legendary indie producer Kramer, who is known for having produced Galaxie-500,

Daniel Johnston Daniel Dale Johnston (January 22, 1961 – September 11, 2019) was an American singer, musician and artist regarded as a significant figure in outsider, lo-fi, and alternative music scenes. Most of his work consisted of cassettes recorded a ...

Low Low or LOW or lows, may refer to: People * Low (surname), listing people surnamed Low Places * Low, Quebec, Canada * Low, Utah, United States * Lo Wu station (MTR code LOW), Hong Kong; a rail station * Salzburg Airport (ICAO airport code: LO ...

Will Oldham Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Flophouse, Palace Br ...

, and

Half Japanese Half Japanese is an American art punk band formed by brothers Jad and David Fair around 1975, sometime after the family's relocation to Uniontown, Maryland. Their original instrumentation included a small drum set, which they took turns playi ...

. That same year, she signed to

Misra Records Misra Records is an independent record label based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The label is distributed by Redeye Worldwide. Founded in 1999, Misra Records is home to landmark releases by Destroyer, Phosphorescent, Shearwater, R. Ring (featuri ...

, which was home to

Great Lake Swimmers Great Lake Swimmers is a Canadian folk rock band from Wainfleet, Ontario, and currently based in Toronto. The current touring line-up includes Tony Dekker on lead vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica, Erik Arnesen on banjo, electric guitar and ...

, Centro-matic, and

Shearwater Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds in the petrel family Procellariidae The family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the diving petrels, the prions, and the shearwa ...

. In 2009, Misra released Rodgers’ second album, ''Bright Day'', which she debuted at the label's

South by Southwest Music Festival South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, T ...

showcase. In 2016, Rodgers released her third album, ''Two Years'', on Misra, again with Kramer at the helm. In 2019, Rodgers partnered with Kramer and her husband, guitarist Erik Cirelli, to write and record ''I Will Be Gone'', her fourth LP. Written and recorded in just six days in her attic, the album utilizes lyrics by Rodgers and music by Cirelli. In addition to mixing, mastering, and producing the album, Kramer also serves as vocalist, bassist, pianist, and arranger, and the record belies an immediacy that is reflective of the time-limited nature of the recording process. The record was released in 2021 on

Discography

*
Emily Rodgers & Her Majesty's Stars
' (2005) *''In Spring Alchemy'' split e/p with Kevin Finn (2005) *
Bright Day
' (

, 2009) *"This Town" appeared in the major motion picture

Café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

(2010). *"This Town" appeared on

WYEP WYEP-FM (91.3 MHz) is a listener-supported non-commercial radio station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It carries an Adult Album Alternative (AAA) radio format and is run by the Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting Corporation, along with 90.5 WESA ...

's Live & Direct: Volume 12. *"Women of Arsenal" appeared on When We Shine: 15 Songs About Pittsburgh, funded by

Allegheny Regional Asset District The Allegheny Regional Asset District (RAD) is a special purpose unit of local government in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Its physical boundaries are the same as those of Allegheny County, and include the City of Pittsburgh. History The distr ...

and Calliope: The Pittsburgh Folk Music Society *
Two Years
(

, 2016)'' *
Emily Rodgers & How Things Are Made
' (2020) *
Only Midnight: Rodgers, Riordan, and Cirelli
' (2020) *
I Will Be Gone
(

, 2021)''

Band members

*Emily Rodgers—guitars, viola, cello, piano *Erik Cirelli—guitars,

lap steel The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional ac ...

(''Bright Day'', ''Two Years'', ''I Will Be Gone'') *Mark Lyons—drums (''Two Years'', ''I Will Be Gone'') *Megan Williams—violin, viola (''Emily Rodgers & Her Majesty's Stars'', ''Bright Day'', ''Two Years'', ''I Will Be Gone'') *Allison Kacmar—

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

(''Two Years'') *Paul Smith—drums, piano (''Bright Day'') *Jon Paslov—guitar, bass (''Emily Rodgers & Her Majesty's Stars'', ''In Spring Alchemy'') *Michele Bartos—cello (''Bright Day'') *Andrew Rishikof—drums (''Emily Rodgers & Her Majesty's Stars'') *Austin Osterhout—

, violin (''Bright Day'') *Kevin Finn—guitar, drums (''In Spring Alchemy'')

Personal life

Emily Rodgers attended

, where she majored in English. Upon graduation, she moved to

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, where she launched her music career in earnest and studied creative writing at

Chatham University Chatham University is a private university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Originally founded as a women's college, it began enrolling men in undergraduate programs in 2015. It enrolls about 2,110 students, including 1,002 undergraduate students an ...

. In 2012, she graduated from

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

with an MA in literary and cultural studies and spent six years teaching English and creative writing at

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened as the Pittsbu ...

and

Community College of Allegheny County Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) is a public community college in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. With four campuses and four centers, the college offers associate degrees, certificates, and diplomas. History The Pennsylvania legis ...

. In 2018, she returned to graduate school and earned an MA in clinical mental health counseling; she currently works as a psychotherapist in private practice. She is married to guitarist Erik Cirelli.

References

External links

Official WebsiteTime Out ChicagoEmily Rodgers on FacebookEmily Rodgers on Instagram
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodgers, Emily American women singer-songwriters Living people 1980 births 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers Misra Records artists Shimmy Disc artists