Songwriter Emily Pinkerton crafts original music that “unites the traditional and the modern in a stunning, beautiful fashion” (PopMatters). She is a founding member of The Early Mays, an old-time, vocal harmony trio that topped the National Folk-DJ charts and was featured twice on NPR’s Mountain Stage. The Mays released “Prettiest Blue” in July 2022, a project called “restoratively vintage” with “a warmth that is often missed in raucous contemporary releases” (For Folk’s Sake).
Emily is currently creating a set of piano ballads that explore voice and gender, with riveting depictions of breaking silence. These powerful themes are also at the heart of new chamber music project —Ephemera Ballads—for voice, banjo, flute, clarinet, electric guitar, piano and bass. The piece, commissioned by Rochester-based ensemble fivebyfive, premieres in March 2025.
PROJECTS
LoOKING For Violeta
An original score for dramatic work about Chilean artists Violeta and Nicanor Parra with Quantum Theatre
Rounder Songs
An Appalachian Song Cycle by Emily Pinkerton & Patrick Burke, Now Available on New Amsterdam Records