Emily Hackett

Mining the territory where sharp, polished country-pop and soulful Americana meet, Emily Hackett’s music defied easy categorization. At first, she received attention for music with pop undertones — in 2014, her duet with Will Anderson on “Take My Hand (The Wedding Song),” became a viral hit — but as the 2010s progressed, she threaded stronger country and Americana elements in her music, an evolution showcased on the twin EPs By the Sun and By the Moon.
Born in Cleveland but raised in a musical household in Atlanta, Georgia, Emily Hackett began playing music at an early age. Inspired by Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson, she initially learned how to play flute but quickly moved to guitar so she could sing and play simultaneously. Hackett moved to Nashville to attend Belmont University after high school and stayed in the Music City once she graduated from college.
Initially, Hackett’s music leaned toward pop. She released an EP called Fury, Fear & Heartbreak in 2013 but first made online waves later that year by recording Lorde’s “Royals” with her friend Megan Davies, a cover that earned some attention online, as did her sweet duet with Will Anderson, “Take My Hand (The Wedding Song).” Both led to the 2014 release of Raw, an EP that found her solidifying her acoustic-anchored pop. As the years passed, she opened for pop-oriented country acts like Lady Antebellum and Rascal Flatts, so she drifted toward adding country to her music, arriving at a blend of soulful, melodic Americana pop. This hybrid was showcased on By the Sun, a 2018 EP that featured the gospel-inflected “Good Intentions” and the flashy 2017 single “Nostalgia.” Hackett followed it in 2019 with its companion EP, By the Moon. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine