EmiSunshine Interview

March 27, 2020 | Courtesy of Pop Blitz Magazine

Meet fifteen-year-old Americana prodigy EmiSunshine. She was only nine when one of her videos went viral, kick-starting her career. Since then Emi has released six albums and played all over the world, at such iconic venues as the Grand Ole Opry, The Ryman, and more.

Music has always been in the family. Her Grandmother had a gospel group called the Perfect Joy, which sparked her love of Gospel. After awhile Sunshine started finding her own sound. While she believes the genre isn’t as important as the songs themselves, she would classify her music as Americana. “The possibilities for that genre are endless. There is so many facets inside that genre. I call it Americana because it seems to fit well under that.”

Growing up, she was first introduced to the Dixie Chicks and fell in love with their music. Then came. Buddy Miller, Judy Miller, Jack White (especially his stuff with Loretta Lynn duets), and most recently an artist called LP.

As a young child, she started singing and writing songs with her mom. For the two it was fun, and a cool way to bond. One day, when she was just five years old, they wrote her first Gospel song. “From there I took a big turn. I went from gospel songs to murder ballads pretty quickly. It ended up manifesting into a lot of different topics in my songs.” Topics she learned in school such as the Dustbowl, ghost stories, you name it.

Where does she get all of these ideas? “We have a pretty crazy world around us so I have a lot of inspiration. For me, I see all of this, and it’s kind of cool to have the perspective of someone who I think you wouldn’t expect sometimes. I thought this could bring a new light talking about peace and love that we should have for each other and kind of bring simplicity into the tragic things that are happening, how we are divided.” Emi hopes to bring light in music while being careful about the messages that come across in her songs.

“My writing started everything for me. I was enthralled by getting to create things like that.” From there she learned to play the ukelele, which gave her a different way of writing. Emi began performing and was hooked. She knew then and there, that this was what she wanted to do for the rest of her life.

Of all the places that this teen has performed, the top of her list is the Grand Ole Opry. What was it like being in the infamous circle? She admits to being excited, but nervous. “What if I messed up in some way or didn’t fit into this amazing place that I have heard so much about and loved all the people that have stood there before.” However, once Emi walked out there she was hit by a moment of calm. It was a moment she will remember for a very long time. She feels very grateful to have been given the opportunity.

When asked about her thoughts on the current Pandemic we are facing her immediate response is the well being of everyone. “The older generation, of course, they are worried because this is something that can primarily hurt them more. But I think people my age still need to be worried because they can hurt someone they love. There are a lot of things that can go wrong by thinking you are invincible. You have to think about other people too.”

While on the road Emi had two gigs canceled. Once arriving at home was told she’d have to stay inside for some period of time, nobody knows how long.. She is making the best of it, having fun writing music, playing, doing Livestreams, and reading.

Miss Sunshine has been doing a lot of thinking about what the future holds. Hot off the heels of “Family Wars”, she is already wanting to record another album. She has so much more to say. “Right now, even though this is a bad circumstance I’ve had a lot of time to write and think about my music, to think about what I’m doing. That is something I really needed to gain that inspiration again to be able to work on another album or anything really.”

Once this is all over Emi is excited to play different places, and to learn more about music in general. She wants to work on her voice and her writing. Sunshine loves co-writing and is honored to have written with a lot of cool people.

She leaves us with one final thought. “I think I’m still thinking about those dreams because a lot of what I’ve wanted has come true so far so I’ll keep you updated on that.”

We think the future is very bright for this young artist and look forward to seeing where the journey takes EmiSunshine.