Show Details
Date: Saturday, March 14
Time: 8 pm
Erin Ash Sullivan returns to play Moore Music a third time, with her daughter Emma Frances.
Music was always a central part of Erin’s life, with piano and voice lessons from her grandmother, herself an accomplished musician and performer. Erin didn’t start playing guitar or writing music until she graduated from Amherst College and was living in New York City, where a miniscule elementary school teacher’s salary and an even more miniscule 9×12’ apartment suddenly made guitar playing an appealing pastime. In New York, Erin reconnected with college friend Amy Speace, and together they founded the band Edith O. They performed regularly at New York City venues including the Bitter End and CBGB’s Gallery and released an album, Tattooed Queen, which garnered critical raves. It is possible that the band broke up when Erin—who was at the time a sleep-deprived mother of a six-week-old—forgot to show up at the Bitter End for the band’s record release show.
In subsequent years, marriage, children, and a career as a teacher, school administrator, and published author took center stage, but in 2018, Erin returned to writing and performing — to great success: her debut solo album, We Can Hear Each Other, reached #10 on the FAI Folk DJ Chart, and her second, Signposts and Marks, reached #4 on the chart. She also has won numerous songwriting awards.
Erin’s shows are warm, intimate, heartfelt, and funny, with tales that are authentic and drawn from her lived experience, shining a light on the ties that bind us together.
Emma Frances is a San Diego-based singer-songwriter who blends the storytelling traditions of folk music and the evocative sounds of indie pop.
She infuses her music with a unique blend of introspection and warmth, capturing the essence of both environments in her soulful melodies and storytelling. Through her music, she explores identity, love, and adulthood, crafting stories from her personal experiences. Often compared to the likes of Madison Cunningham, Julia Jacklin, and KT Tunstall, Emma’s memorable melodies and raw lyrics blend Americana and indie pop.
Acoustic finger-picking has become a cornerstone of Emma’s style. She has spent over a decade performing in small venues in Boston and Southern California, where her quiet yet soulful performances blend the softness of acoustic folk with the rhythmic intensity of pop music.
Emma Frances released her debut four-song EP “Caverns of Youth” in June 2024. Blending laid-back pop melodies with thoughtful lyrics, Emma Frances – somewhat flirtatiously – recounts lust and longing while delivering distinctive melodic twists. Written during a whirlwind relationship by the beach, Frances returned to New England to record at a hometown studio with her four-piece band. Proudly recorded with all analog instruments, a blend of acoustic guitars, electric pedals, and 1970s synths draw you in to a “vibrant, classic production” (UpToHearMusic). While her solo shows in San Diego and Boston have highlighted her acoustic roots, this project marks a departure as she delves solidly into full-band indie folk-pop territory.
Prior to her EP, Emma released a handful of singles. Writing exclusively from personal experiences, “You’ll Never Know” (2023) is a heartfelt recognition of a relationship that has grown apart. “Nice To Meet You” (2021) captures the spontaneity of a transformative four-month stint spent in New Zealand. Emma has been writing for over a decade, and demos of her early music were released as “Post It Songs” in 2016.
