Emily Barker

Influenced by her father's Joni Mitchell, Rickie Lee Jones, and Sandy Denny record collection, Antipodean singer/songwriter Emily Barker is one of the most exciting talents on the contemporary chamber folk scene. Born in Bridgetown, a tiny rural backwater in southwest Australia, Barker began her musical career when she moved to the U.K. in 2002 and teamed up with guitarist Rob Jackson (Eddi Reader) to form the Low Country. The duo recorded two albums, Welcome to the Low Country and The Dark Road, before Barker decided to pursue a solo career, releasing her debut LP, Photos. Fires. Fables., in 2007. After recruiting the cello, violin, and musical saw trio of Anna Jenkins, Jo Silverston, and Gill Sandell, aka the Red Clay Halo, she released her follow-up, Despite the Snow, through her own label, Everyone Sang, in 2008. Its opening track, "Nostalgia," was chosen as the theme tune to the BBC's Kenneth Branagh-starring adaptation of Swedish crime drama Wallander, and later went on to win a BAFTA and Royal Television Award. Barker has toured with Frank Turner, José González, and the Waifs and released her third album, Almanac, in 2011. Barker released her fourth album, the Calum Malcolm-produced Dear River, in 2013. ~ Jon O'Brien, Rovi