Floyd Musician Slated for Inaugural FloydFest Performance
-The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on April 15, 2022.
Emmaline Hicks, who hails from Indian Valley, has been singing since she was four or five years old and began writing her own music when she was 12. She grew up singing in local churches throughout Virginia as Emily Gerald, before adopting her stage name, “Emmaline,” and getting married in March. She is a member of the Voices of Truth band.
Hicks will be performing for the first time at FloydFest Heartbeat (July 27 -31) as one of the festival’s Local Love performers. “It’s super exciting and big opportunity,” said the 23-year-old about performing at Floydfest 22 Heartbeat. “You grow up in Floyd hearing about Floydfest all the time. It could be a big step in my musical journey.”
Hicks, who works as an office tech at Wall Residences in Floyd says she began writing music to process her emotions. “The thing I love most about music is how it connects everyone — how two people could be total opposites but sharing a love of the same band or genre can form an instant sense of camaraderie. It’s like magic.”
Inspired by the music of Stevie Nicks and Carole King, Hicks said, “I grew up listening to a lot of that era of music. I also really enjoy a lot of indie music and singer/songwriter types. For me it’s really about what the singer is saying and how their words make you feel. I’ll take meaningful lyrics over catchy beats any day.”
Hicks has worked at the Floydfest Box Office as a volunteer in the past. She enjoyed seeing multi-Grammy-winner Kacey Musgraves perform in 2019, and this year she’s looking forward to hearing Lake Street Drive, a multi-genre band that was formed in 2004 at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and is now based out of Brooklyn.
“I’ve been listening to them for years, and this will be the first time I get to see them live. Their music is really different and the lead singers voice is just so unique,” she said.
Hicks will be performing her original music at the Ferrum College Workshop Porch at Floydfest on Sunday July 30th. _________Colleen Redman
