Confront the Uncomfortable: An Interview with Emily Chambers

by - June 06, 2019


A 9-5 job isn’t really for everyone, and Emily Chambers learned that the hard way.

Music has been a part of her since she started taking voice lessons from Canadian jazz singer Joani Taylor at 8 years old. For 10 years, Chambers worked to perfect her voice while being introduced to the likes of Etta James, Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin.

After high school, she attended Berklee College of Music. It was a transition that ended up taking some time for her to get used to.

“I wasn't sure that music is what I wanted to do with my life yet but I really didn't have an idea what else I would do,” she said. “I spent a year there feeling really intimidated by the environment and didn't branch out very much.”

It wasn’t until that summer when she spent time with her friends in Europe that she got the motivation she was looking for. Her original three-week trip turned into four months of open mic nights, learning new songs and busking the south of France, Italy and Greece. From then on, she knew that music was her calling.

Her job in the insurance industry was something she thought she could balance with music. However, spending half of her time outside of music wasn’t working for her. The final push involved leaving her band of six years and deciding to take the leap to perform as a solo act.

“Once I went through the heartbreak of making that decision I felt I had created the space for myself to go all in,” she said. “I try not to dwell on what I would have done differently because it's all a part of the journey - sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if I stayed in Europe when I was 19, but I think I might have never grown up.”

Chambers’ latest single, “Real Talk”, comes from a relationship that should have never happened. It’s about feeling trapped in a situation but ignoring the chance to do something about it - “getting beneath the surface and into the dirt.” She hopes listeners take away the ideology that dissatisfaction doesn’t have to be a norm and reevaluating relationships is healthy.

While currently splitting her time between Canada and Nashville, Emily Chambers finally has the opportunity to commit to songwriting full-time. She has found her community, her passion and her inspiration to continue making impactful music.

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