EMILY SCHULTZ

About Emily

Emily Schultz hails from the thriving arts scene of Edmonton, AB. She struck an interest in community and the arts at a very young age, attending the Victoria School for the Arts to develop a wide range of performance abilities. From there, Emily began accompanying many artists musically, which led her to perform at festivals and events across Canada such as the Edmonton Folk Music Festival (Edmonton, AB), the Salmon Arm Roots & Blues Festival (Salmon Arm, BC) and the Blue Skies Festival (Ottawa, ON).

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Her love of performing took her to Victoria, BC, where she earned an enriched diploma in performing arts from the Canadian College of Performing Arts. Shortly after she moved to Vancouver where she later picked up a guitar and started the journey of writing music.

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In 2016, Emily moved to Toronto, ON. As a FACTOR-funded artist, Emily has since been featured musically on eTalk, Breakfast TV and Much Music, the latter of which she worked alongside artist/producer Allie-X to produce Emily’s original song “All I’ve Ever Needed” in association with 5gum. She has showcased her musical abilities with the renowned Soulpepper Theatre Company as a featured artist in their productions of 'On A Night Like This' and 'Riverboat Coffee House: The Yorkville Scene,' and shared her talents as a multi-instrumentalist and featured performer in the County Stage production of "The Shape of Home" in Prince Edward County. Since moving to Toronto, she has been a highlighted performer at JUNOfest, Folk Music Ontario and Canadian Music Week, co-headlined several sold-out venues (highlights including The Great Hall, Rivoli, Bar Cathedral and Supermarket) and earned herself multiple musical residencies, including a monthly residency at Toronto's legendary music staple, the Rex Hotel Jazz & Blues Bar.

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Emily’s sound is driven forward by her folk roots with influences from indie, pop, alternative soul and Americana. Combining powerful vocals, honest song writing and guitar, she has developed a passionate performance experience that speaks honestly of human existence, and releases it with an onstage energy that is both raw and contagious. Pulling inspiration from Patty Griffin to Ben Howard, Noah Kahan to India Arie, Emily has concocted her own brand of music that will both open your soul and get you singing your heart out. 

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Additionally, Emily is the co-founder of 'Giving Tree,' an artist collective based on cultivating free creativity and inspiring human connection. Giving Tree creates performance opportunities to highlight up-and-coming artists, teaming up with companies like the JOEY Restaurants and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada to design events and music programs alike, with special emphasis on community outreach. Their recent collaboration with 1 Hotel Toronto entitled Warmth for the People was a smash success, raising thousands of dollars and gathering truckloads of winter clothing donations to be distributed to people in need to the Toronto community this past winter. Emily is also involved with the global organization Honey Jam, a non-profit centred around giving young, female artists the chance to further themselves in the music industry through education and performance opportunities. An alum herself, Emily has been a Honey Jam ambassador since 2018, while recently stepping into leadership by taking on musical arrangement and creative direction for Honey Jam. Giving Tree's latest philanthropic project is in collaboration with Jordan Hart on his viral song '215 and Counting,' all proceeds of which are going toward aiding Indigenous communities in need in Canada. 

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Emily released her debut single entitled Times Like These in 2022, releasing her highly anticipated second release What Do I Know shortly after, which earned her a well-deserved nomination for Song of the Year in 2023's Ontario Folk Music Awards. Her following collaboration with Jordan Hart on their rendition of 'Little Drummer Boy' swept with over 150,000+ streams in just one month. Riding off that success, Emily finally released her debut EP Family Name in 2023: a 5-track, stirring body of work that has been blowing audiences away with its honesty, range in musicality and dynamic prowess. Emily has since followed it up with a powerhouse FACTOR-funded project, Away Away, and recently released her energetic fall single, The Pines. 

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This December and January, Emily will be heading to Montreal to share her musical talent at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts for Soulpepper's third remount of 'The Secret Chord: A Leonard Cohen Experience."