WHAT: Folk

WHERE: Salt Spring Island, BC

VISIT: www.effemeralinattentive.com

Emily Whitelaw is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter and a queer trans woman, born in Calgary but now living on Salt Spring Island. Under the name Effemeral Inattentive, she uses her music to give voice to experiences and emotions that often go unshared and unheard by people like her. Dealing with themes of love, pain and self-discovery, her hope is that listeners can find something to relate to in her music. Whitelaw has a background in musical theatre and contemporary art music, as well as classical and early music singing.

As a folk artist, her lyrics are deeply personal, but are written with the intention of resonating with others as well. She draws influence from the lyricism and music of songwriters like Tracy Chapman and Joni Mitchell, whom she admires for their unflinchingly honest and incisive wording. A full range of emotions can be heard on Whitelaw’s newest six-song effort, Flower in the Dark, with upbeat, hopeful songs contrasting stripped-down, melancholic tunes, in a true folk fashion.