Longford rising star from Moydow set to perform at Electric Picnic

Emily Doyle is a 25-year-old singer from Moydow, county Longford. Having attended Mercy Secondary School in Ballymahon, she later attended BIMM to pursue her love for music. At the age of 12, she competed in the Longford Youth Factor, where she came second. Later, she had the opportunity to perform at Hype, an under 18s festival organised by Foróige which took place in Longford.

“That was my first proper stage experience,” she said. “I’ve done it my whole life. I started writing my original music two or three years ago. Before then, it was just me singing along. I didn’t push myself into the industry. I didn’t know what to do or how to get anywhere. In the last four to five years, I decided to have music as my career. I moved to Dublin and went to BIMM. I’ve just graduated. From two to three years, I’ve done my own original gigs.”

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Having not done music originally in her post-secondary, she decided to go to BIMM to explore her musical talents. Emily plays guitar and piano, the latter in which she has achieved all her classical grades. She credits the environment of BIMM for encouraging her pursuits, as there were like-minded people to support one another with a common goal.

This year, Emily will be performing at Electric Picnic. Calling it a “major opportunity” and highlight, along with releasing her own songs, Emily has approached the build-up in a calm and constructive manner.

“I’m honestly trying to view it as a regular gig with my half an hour set. I don’t want to overthink it and put on a show and not be me. I hope people enjoy it. This is what I want to do; I want to write my original songs. I do what I usually do. I’ve my microphone and speaker downstairs as if there’s an audience.

“I suppose all the smaller gigs leading up to this have prepared me for this. Sometimes, all of the smaller gigs you do; they’re for nothing without reward–I feel this is the reward. All of those smaller gigs have been worth it.”

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For Longford musicians hoping to follow in Emily’s footsteps and break into the music industry, she has this advice:

“Just go for it. I wanted to do music but didn’t know how to start. I didn’t do music for three years and only decided to go back and do my music degree to get where I want to be.

“Just go for it and surround yourself with people who want the same thing. Sometimes, it feels like you’re in competition but you’re really not. You all need each other. Surround people with those you want to be around. Just do it.

“I didn’t pursue this because everyone would be looking at me if I didn’t make it, but now I don’t care. It’s not about what everyone else thinks.”