Northern Irish singer-songwriter Emma Doherty is back with a new single, Molly and Tom, streaming from 6 November. The press release points to fans of Lucy Blue, Orla Gartland, Holly Humberstone, Lizzy McAlpine and Nina Nesbitt.
Emma grew up in the rural village of Draperstown, County Derry, and the song is set in a local bar. The narrator sits back and watches the people who pass through – neighbours who know each other's business, stories going round, the same routines playing out again and again.
She says it came from "thinking about how, in a small town, you can almost become a spectator in other people's lives. Everyone knows each other, and you see the same routines playing out over and over again. There's a mundanity to it, but also a comfort in knowing what to expect. I liked the idea of setting the song in a local bar, where all these different lives cross paths and you can sit back and watch."
The release says the song doesn't simply romanticise or criticise small-town life. It sits somewhere in between, with an understated gratitude for the people and places that give a community its identity.
A song that watches a village pub from the corner rather than telling everyone what to think about it is a nice idea, and coming from someone who actually grew up in Draperstown it carries some weight. I'm happy to back Emma here, and she's a good name to have on your radar.
Emma started playing guitar at 5 through Glasgowbury Creative Hub and has been writing her own songs since she was 12. In 2022 she represented Northern Ireland at the Irish Youth Music Awards in Dublin, where her songwriting came second nationally. She has played Stendhal Festival two years running with a full band, appeared on John Toal's BBC Radio Ulster show, and was named Richer Unsigned Artist of the Week. she has also been included on BBC Radio Ulster's September Where Music Matters playlist, and has recently played Belfast Guitar Festival.
Find her here:
– Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmadohertymusic/
– TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@emma.doherty.music
– Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0OVt3usrTqojeVLH6sklbl