Best known as the most downloaded indie pop/rock artist on MP3.com, Emily Richards is a prolific singer/songwriter based in Los Angeles. Included in her over 2.25 million downloads and 12 #1 singles on MP3.com, are the hits To Love You (over 750,000 downloads) and Do You Remember (Most Downloaded Indie Pop Song of 2000), featured in the HBO movie Red Letters. She’s released 9 albums on her own record label, Rillriver Records, that reflect on a personal journey of loss and renewal. Currently, Emily is touring the nation with Conscious Voice 2004 in support of her latest release, Valhalla.
Emily’s road schedule has included 3 national tours and many highlights. Among the brightest were opening for Martina McBride during the Olympic Torch Across America celebration in Salt Lake City and being selected from 70,000 independent artists to headline the 50-city Club MP3.com Summer 2000 Tour sponsored by House of Blues. Summer ‘03, Hard Rock Café & RADD supported her west regional tour that included drunk driving presentations to high schools and colleges. And Emily was to run Lollapalooza’s Music Tree, a plug-and-play stage where she would collaborate with festival-goers and headline talent alike, before the cancellation of the ’04 version of the summer classic.
More important to Emily than all of her successes is her message. During the final leg of her MP3.com tour, Emily’s 19-year-old sister, Annie, was killed by a drunk driver near her home in Utah. This tragedy reshaped Emily’s music and led her to form nonprofit AWAKE Community (www.awakecommunity.org) with guitarist Jason Brock to focus on educating youth and spreading the “don’t drink and drive” message.
Emily’s songs can be heard on commercial radio stations from her childhood home of Salt Lake City, Utah, to as far away as Dublin, Ireland and Bordeaux, France as well as on College Radio Stations across the US. Her CD’s are available for purchase at Amazon.com and CDBaby.com or download via Apple’s iTunes Music Store.
Richards began studying piano at the age of five and started songwriting at eleven. She is also an accomplished vocalist and dancer.
Richards herself was a victim of a car accident where she suffered a serious back injury while studying music and dance at the University of Utah. Due to the severity of her injuries, she was forced to change her focus and went on to graduate in Accounting. She enjoyed a successful career as a CPA and manager for PricewaterhouseCoopers.
After extensive rehabilitation, Richards has anxiously returned to her true passion, music.
Emily’s songwriting reflects a combination of her exposure to social issues, love and loss, which she’s dealt with on the most personal level. Her music speaks for itself.