Emily Portman is an award-winning singer, songwriter, banjo and concertina player, with a passion for folk music. As a songwriter Emily is best known for her ability to conjure darkly surreal netherworlds where folklore and fairytale collide with urban landscapes. She tours widely, currently with new duo partner Rob Harbron and traditional song band The Furrow Collective, who were awarded ‘Best Band’ in the 2017 BBC Folk awards. Emily was awarded a BBC Folk award for Best Original Song for her Greek myth-inspired lullaby ‘Hatchlings’ and nominated for 'Best Singer' in the 2016 folk awards.

Emily’s latest original solo album Coracle features new compositions drawing on British ballads and folktales, exploring themes of motherhood, death and other worlds. Described as 'a marvellous, original work' by the Observer, Coracle placed Emily on the fROOTs magazine cover for the second time and received airplay from the likes of Jarvis Cocker on 6 Music and Mark Radcliffe on BBC Radio 2. Emily toured Coracle with her specially formed 6 piece Coracle Band (including longstanding, outstanding collaborators Lucy Farrell and Rachel Newton) who played festivals including Rio Loco (France) and Rudolstadt (Germany).

Emily’s albums have received critical acclaim and widespread international radio-play, with her debut fairytale-inspired album ‘The Glamoury’ and lullaby themed 'Hatchling' also gaining her wide accolades. As a collaborator Emily has shared stages with folk luminaries including Martin Simpson and Waterson:Carthy and participated in Liverpool’s Irish Sea Sessions.

As well as being a performer, Emily is an experienced and highly regarded educator, working independently as a voice teacher and workshop leader and as a guest lecturer for Newcastle University and Leeds Conservatoire. Emily has also presented BBC Radio Merseyside’s folk show ‘Folkscene’, written articles for the acclaimed roots and world music magazine fROOTS, and given talks on ballads at Cecil Sharp House and The International Ballad Conference.