Emily Riddle releases sophomore album, Let it Shine, with a little help from the family

The 19-year old has the right tools to be a successful musician.

emilyriddle.bandcamp.com

Emily Riddle

With a meek voice and subdued personality, Emily Riddle comes off as the sweet and shy girl next door. But put a microphone and ukulele in front of her, and watch the passion and excitement come to life through her calming folk music. At 19 years old, she can boast two almost entirely self-written albums, and she doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.

This budding Oregon born, Texas raised artist comes from a family of writers and musicians — most notably her mother, Jennie Lee Riddle — who work and tour together under the name New Nation Music. Jennie Lee owns a Christian company that travels to various worship conferences to teach songwriting and share the company's message of faith. Emily works for her mom and plays percussion for the worship group. Not only has Jennie Lee passed on her songwriting skills, she also produces Emily’s albums and pushes her daughter’s career along.

After Emily released her first album, Happy in a Melancholy Way, at the age of 16, she took a break to focus on high school and work for New Nation Music. She was able to travel with the group across the country and to Europe after graduation, giving her ample time to gain inspiration for new songs. Once they were back in Texas, Emily says her mom sat her down and told her it was time for a new record. She gave her four weeks to write and record the album in their personal studio, which is conveniently built on their property.

With the help of her band (her brother plays the bass, a close friend is the drummer, and their studio engineer doubles as the guitarist), Emily was able to make the deadline, finishing with Let it Shine -- a “more mature record” that shows her growth both as a musician and as an adult. She describes her style as contemplative, citing Eva Cassidy as her biggest influence. The result is a melancholy mix of sweet melodies and meaningful stories created from the simple, pleasant strums of the ukulele, banjo, and mandolin.

After the release of Let it Shine, officials at iTunes contacted her to say that it was album #100 on the Alternative Top 100 chart. They featured the record in four sections on the site. You can find Let it Shine on iTunes or on Emily’s bandcamp site.