Meet Emily Sangder

Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Sangder.

Emily, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started performing around my hometown of Eugene, Oregon at the age of nine, playing Miley Cyrus covers with my electric guitar. Since then, performing has been a huge part of my life. Throughout high school, I was involved in multiple choirs, as well as the theater program, but it wasn’t until the end of high school that I decided to make music my full-time career and head to music school for college. I’m currently a senior at Berklee College of Music, studying both Music Business and Performance.

But for as long as I’ve been a musician, it wasn’t until about a year ago that I really decided to try and be an artist and release my own music. Songwriting was something that I struggled with for a really long time, and I was pretty convinced it was never going to happen for me. I ended up taking a songwriting class at Berklee last year with a Professor who changed my life, and now I couldn’t be more excited to be releasing my own music and trying to pursue a career in this industry.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It definitely hasn’t been completely smooth. I’ve struggled a lot with wondering if I actually have what it takes to be doing this. Being at Berklee has been both an amazing experience and a humbling one because it’s not always easy surrounding yourself with people who are not only insanely talented but who are going into the same (very) competitive field as you are. Plus, writing music is pretty new for me, and most people I know from school who are releasing stuff have been writing for 10+ years at this point. These days everything is focused on numbers as well, if you don’t get the number of Spotify streams you want to see, it can be tough. It’s hard not to fall into the “I’m not good enough” mindset sometimes, but the positive feedback I’ve received so far has been really encouraging.

Can you give our readers some background on your music?
I’m a singer/songwriter writing music in mostly the Indie-Folk genre. I love honest music about situations that have happened in my life, but I want the message to be relatable for others as well. Everything I write comes from a genuine place, and it’s usually about how I was feeling in that moment. I think my style of music sets myself apart from others my age, I always tend to start with a folk vibe, but I love to add surprise chords in there as well that are more on the jazzy side (thanks Berklee).

What were you like growing up?
I was a pretty shy kid growing up. I have loved singing for as long as I can remember, but I absolutely hated doing it in front of other people, especially people I knew personally. I performed a lot when I was younger, but I would never let my parents invite anyone to my shows and I would get mad if they did it anyway. I never really liked to be the center of attention, which has sort of changed now, haha. I’m still kind of shy when you first meet me, but I’ve definitely gotten over the fear of having people see me perform.

Obviously, I loved music growing up, but I had some other interests as well. I was a pretty athletic kid, I tried out as many sports as I could until I ended up playing softball for quite awhile. I was lucky to grow up in a place that encouraged spending time outdoors, and to this day I love hiking, kayaking, and spending time in the mountains.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.emilysangder.com/
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilysangder/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emilysangdermusic/
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2h5hC5shpnFfOFGsZ1jLvH?si=jj607HXSQ1mgeRT1qSZyhQ

Image Credit:
Photo where I’m wearing the pink skirt taken by Caroline Soule, all other photos taken by Michael Angier

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