Vicky Emerson

Singer/songwriter Vicky Emerson has been heralded by the Minneapolis Star Tribune and No Depression for her gorgeous, dusky voice and songwriting chops on previous releases but her new album, Steady Heart, which she self-produced, has firmly established her as an essential, strong female voice in Americana music.

With the onset of the #metoo and #timesup movements, Emerson began evaluating her career and her own #metoo moments. It became apparent that in her own Minneapolis music scene, many women were not in control of their own sound.

Emerson explains, “The lack of female leadership and representation really started to bother me. I believe in being part of the change I’d like to see within the fabric of our music community. The vision I had for this album was crystal clear in my mind. I decided it was time to trust myself and my musicianship.”

After releasing three critically acclaimed albums, Emerson believed it was time for her to step into the role as the producer. Also, this group of deeply personal songs seemed an ideal fit for Emerson to shepherd from pre-production to duplication. “The title track,“Steady Heart,” is a love song which I wrote for my husband. Love is beautiful, crazy, messy and complicated. It can be the greatest high and also the most heart wrenching low. I started writing from a place of love and the rest of the songs that followed came from this sincere, honest and vulnerable place.” She launched a wildly successful Kickstarter for Steady Heart and the album was recorded, mixed and mastered in the summer of 2018.

Emerson was raised in rural Wisconsin, has lived in New York City and San Francisco before relocating back to her roots in Minneapolis with her husband to raise her children. She continues to tour the nation as a solo artist as well as with her Americana duo, The Home Fires, with good friend Sarah Morris. Emerson and Morris have also launched Front Porch Music Group, a Minneapolis-based consulting firm for singer/songwriters.

Emerson has opened for Gregory Alan Isakov, Amanda Shires, Brewer & Shipley and Malcomb Holcombe as a solo artist and Emmylou Harris and Ben Rector as The Home Fires. Steady Heart reached #52 on the Americana Music Association Album Chart and #4 on the European Chart while the single, "The Reckoning" rose to #34 Americana Singles Chart.