Artist Information
Biography
Emma McKenna is a Toronto based lesbian performer and writer. Haling from Alberta, McKenna's songs recall the isolation of the prairie landscape and the choked-up feeling of dry heat and too much sky. With gritty guitar and baleful moans reminiscent of Cat Power and Kate Bush, McKenna sings haunting songs of longing and loss. She is currently recording a full-length album with sound engineer/producer Heather Kirby (Ohbijou). Emma McKenna's record is entirely solo and features her on percussion and bass guitar. She is also focusing on expanding her performance repertoire through the introduction of percussion into her live act.
Emma McKenna's music is constantly evolving, and has developed from lead vocals and guitar in earlier indie-rock and girl bands to a powerful solo act. McKenna's high school rock n' roll apex was a show at Lee's Palace with Team Rocket, and she went on to play intensively for 3 years with local lezcore band Galaxy (Katie Stelmanis and Maya Postepski). Galaxy was slotted for a variety of opening gigs with The Organ, Tracy and the Plastics, Lesbians on Ecstasy, Gentleman Reg, Emm Gryner, and Kids On TV.
McKenna's first solo show at the Press Club in August 2007 was received with a rave review by NOW Magazine and has since gone on to open for Scout Niblet at Toronto's the Horseshoe and has played with a vast array of artists including Rae Spoon, Timber Timbre, Katie Stelmanis, Snowblink, and the Ghost Bees.
She has also instructed guitar at the Rock N' Roll Camp for Girls in Portland, Oregon and was employed as a music writer for Toronto's NOW Magazine. She is currently completing her undergraduate degree in Women and Gender Studies at the University of Toronto.
May 2009
Instrumentation
Emma McKenna - vocals, electric guitar, bass guitar, snare drum, kick drum, floor tom, ankle bells
Discography
Galaxy, I Want You To Notice, 2006
Emma McKenna, Untitled Demo, 2007
Emma McKenna, "Happiness", Friends Of Bellwoods Compilation, 2009
Video
Press
Setlist
Basic Set List: 6-8 songs long
Song Titles include: Over, The Cliff, Your Body, Run With It, Gone Before, Slow the Moon, Happiness, The Grass, Rise Out of You, Mean Hand, Wild Dogs
Estimated Time: 20-25 minutes, possibility to play for 40 minutes
