Emily Merrell’s “thesaurus pop” anchors somewhere between art pop and cinematic jazz fusion (Kate Bush meets Janelle Monae), weaving playful and evocative lyrics through colorful harmonies and energetic grooves. Inspired by her fascination with our human tendency to pose, posture, and conceal, Emily’s most recent work explores themes of disguise and disclosure: “Masks can be calculated or unconscious; liberating or constricting; subversive, strategic, coquettish, coercive, and everything is layered.”

Currently based in Lehi, Utah, Emily performs with her original band, and is the lead vocalist and producer/booking agent for the International Musicians League affiliate, Diamond Empire Band. Emily owns and operates EM Vocal Studio in Lehi, UT, and takes great pride in building creative confidence and developing marketable skills with artists of all ages. Additionally, Emily finds a labor of love in her original podcast, “Artifice,” wherein she interviews professional artists about the origins and development of their creativity, the logistics of life as an “artpreneur,” and their strategies for blending vulnerability with veneer as they cultivate creative resilience.

Having completed a Master of Music in Jazz Performance from the world-renown University of North Texas, Emily is a well-rounded and confident vocalist, composer, arranger, and educator with extensive skills in theory, improvisation, research, pedagogy, and vocal physiology.