Archives: Columnists

Emma's professional endeavors include music industry promotion, fine arts curating, nonprofit arts marketing + public relations, and most recently freelance brand consulting, creative direction, and styling + photography. Her current clients include Herb Lamb Vineyards, Rudius Wines, Jameson Animal Rescue Ranch, and Shipwright & Co. She is known for stellar communication and organizational skills, free-flowing creativity, and contagious energy. 

Breaking into radio promotion as an on-air disc jockey at the age of 16 led to many opportunities in the music industry, including a marketing position with Sony Music throughout college. After graduating from Michigan State University with a B.A. in Communications, Emma developed a passion for the nonprofit sector and left the music industry in order to direct and curate an alternative art space in East Lansing, Michigan's blossoming arts district. There, she successfully engaged both students and permanent residents with a dynamic variety of community programming. 

From there, she relocated to Orlando, Florida where she spent more than six years overseeing the communications department for the nation’s eighth largest Local Arts Agency. During her time there, she focused on cultivating meaningful collaborations between arts organizations, businesses, and individual artists, and simultaneously earned her certificate in leadership training at Rollins College. While working for United Arts, she was immersed and actively involved in local public art, advocacy, city government, arts education, and economic impact studies.

Emma transitioned into the food and wine realm working as Creative Director for Orlando's public market, East End Market. In the spring of 2012 she left the South for the West in order to explore the next chapter in her life with her adorably bearded husband Matt, who works as a filmmaker and photographer in the Napa Valley and beyond. She spends her free moments cooking and photographing vegetarian delights (recipes can frequently be found on her lifestyle blog here), being a cat lady (neighborhood cats flock to her), and attempting to live up to her namesake, Emmylou Harris, by playing her mandolin.

Allison Hussey is a Durham, NC-based writer and contributor at Indy Week. You can find her on Twitter at @allisonhussey.

Michael Verity is a Portland, OR-based writer and photographer who's been reviewing music since he was 10 years old, when he penned a scathing review of Robert John's "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" for the local newspaper. He also writes for Relix, American Songwriter, CMT Edge and Alternate Root, among others. You can see more of his work on his website.

Jon Weisberger is a bass player and was named the recipient of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s first Songwriter of the Year award in 2012.  A one-time award-winning music journalist, he still writes the occasional article, but mostly performs with Chris Jones & The Night Drivers and the Roland White Band; cohosts a weekly radio show, The Blue Side of Town with Del McCoury; and has had dozens of his songs recorded by artists ranging from the Infamous Stringdusters to Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers.  He was recently elected Chairperson of the IBMA’s Board of Directors.  Jon lives near White House, Tennessee, close by the spot where Bill Monroe had his famed 1953 auto accident. 

Follow him on Twitter at @jonweisberger.