The London music scene is often a revolving door of indie hopefuls who burn out before their first residency ends. But then you have the lifers. Karen Emeny belongs to the latter camp, a fixture in the Forest City circuit since her 2009 debut *Finding the Words*. She does not just inhabit the stage; she occupies it with a calculated blend of 90s-era grit and a vocal clarity that suggests she spent more time listening to Sarah McLachlan than she did the Top 40 of the last decade.
Holding the physical pressing of her latest EP, *The Right Mistakes*, there is a weight to it that digital files simply cannot replicate. The artwork is clean, but the music inside is a textured collision of folk, country and pop-rock. It is the kind of record that feels like it was tracked in a room with actual oxygen, not just a series of plugins.
Emeny did not just wake up and decide to be a songwriter. This has been a slow-burn evolution that started long before she was old enough to legally enter the venues she now headlines. When asked about her early start at 12 years old, she confirms the timeline of her development.
"Yeah, I started writing when I was 12," Emeny says. "I took classical guitar lessons from a young age and I got really interested in writing my own music."
That classical foundation is the secret weapon here. You can hear it in the way she structures her melodies—there is a logic to the progression that escapes most self-taught strummers. It provides a skeleton for the more fluid, emotive lyrics she has become known for.
In a city like London, the gravitational pull of Fanshawe College’s music industry arts program is nearly impossible to escape. Most local artists treat it as a mandatory rite of passage. Emeny, however, took a sharp left turn into academia, choosing a path that informs her songwriting through a more literary lens.
"I actually didn’t go to school for music," she says. "I went to university for an honours specialization in English and a minor in History and then I went to teacher’s college. I always wanted to be a teacher but I also wanted to become a musician so I think I found a nice mix of the two where I do have the security of teaching and that passion and also can explore music in my time away from teaching."
This duality is what makes her perspective so grounded. She is not chasing a phantom record deal with the desperation of a twenty-something with no backup plan. Instead, she treats her music like a high-stakes craft that exists alongside her professional life.
"I take advantage of my weekends to try and play shows and recording throughout the year and gigging summers," Emeny says. "It’s a little bit of best of both worlds."
That stability allows her to be selective about her collaborators. You do not just stumble into a working relationship with someone like Emm Gryner unless you have the material to back it up. Gryner, a multiple Juno nominee and a veteran of David Bowie’s touring band, is not exactly handing out guest spots for fun.
The connection happened at the Dollhouse Showcase, a local staple that has long been a proving ground for female talent in Southwestern Ontario.
"I was playing the Dollhouse Showcase a couple years ago and Emm was brought in to emcee the night and we connected there," Emeny says. "I reached out to her shortly after and said hey, I’m working on a couple of singles, would you be interested in playing some piano? She said for sure, just send me the tracks and I’ll record and send it back to you guys."
That initial digital exchange evolved into something much more substantial. Gryner’s fingerprints are all over Emeny’s 2017 output, specifically "You Left me With a Kiss" and "Maybe Tomorrow." But the real magic happened when they moved from session work to true mentorship.
"She played piano on my two singles that I released in 2017," Emeny says. "I later ran into her at the Jack Richardson Awards and she connected me with Kevin Doyle and she said do you want to write a song together and we’ll get Kevin to produce it and that’s where Meant For This came from. From there I asked her if she wanted to play bass on a couple of the other tracks and then I started working with her through mentoring and some vocal coaching and she was really helpful with a lot of ideas for the rollout of the EP."
The mention of Kevin Doyle should make any Canadian music nerd sit up a little straighter. We are talking about the man who helped shape Alannah Myles’ "Black Velvet"—a song that remains the gold standard for Canadian blues-rock production.
I later ran into Emm Gryner at the Jack Richardson Awards and she connected me with Kevin Doyle and she said do you want to write a song together and we’ll get Kevin to produce it and that’s where Meant For This came from. From there I asked her if she wanted to play bass on a couple of the other tracks and then I started working with her through mentoring and some vocal coaching and she was really helpful with a lot of ideas for the rollout of the EP.
Working with Doyle and Michael Marucci gave *The Right Mistakes* a sonic sheen that elevates it above the typical "local artist" fare. The production is thick without being muddy, and it leans heavily into that 90s aesthetic that is currently enjoying a massive revival.
"Well he worked with Alannah Myles on Black Velvet and with Anne Murray for several years and is well recognized so it was really neat to have the opportunity to work with both him and Michael Marucci who was actually a student of his," Emeny says. "The songs definitely have different production and different vibes to them but they all have a what I feel is a 90’s sound that is unique to my music. I think they all came together really well."
There is a definitive technical critique to be made here: the 90s sound Emeny references is not just a stylistic choice; it is a structural one. The snare hits are bigger, the vocal layering is more deliberate and there is a lack of the hyper-compressed "loudness" that ruins modern radio pop.
Critics often try to pigeonhole Emeny into the country category, likely because of the acoustic guitar and the narrative-driven lyrics. But that is a lazy assessment. There is a progressive edge to her newer work that suggests she is moving away from the Nashville tropes and toward something more experimental.
"I wouldn’t say anything purposeful," Emeny says regarding the shift. "I do notice it shifted a little from some of my other music, but I wouldn’t say that I always pushed the country route either. I grew up listening to and emulating a lot of Jewel when I was a kid and that’s when I got into writing."
The Jewel influence is the key to unlocking Emeny’s vocal style. It is that "country inflection" she mentions, but it is wrapped in a pop sensibility that allows her to pivot between genres without it feeling like a gimmick.
"I just loved Jewel and her music and I feel like I have that little bit of country inflection in my voice for sure, but I really like that I can approach different genres and kind of cross those barriers," she says. "When I write just whatever comes out comes out and then in the production you can kind of push things a certain way I guess."
The flow of *The Right Mistakes* is where the English major in Emeny really shines. The EP is curated like a short story collection. It starts with the driving energy of "Meant for This," moves into the ethereal, atmospheric "Someone Else" and culminates in the rock-heavy "Hard Love."
"Thank you, I really wanted to have a flow to the EP where we didn’t put the two slower ballads together and have a nice mix and also to have that build with a strong start, I think having Meant for This kick it off was really great," Emeny says.
"Hard Love" is the standout track, largely because it features Sarah Smith, another London powerhouse. Smith’s gravelly, rock-and-roll rasp provides a perfect foil to Emeny’s smoother delivery. It is a vocal duel that gives the EP its most visceral moment.
"Actually Hard Love is one of my favourites because it has a little more rock to it," Emeny says. "Sarah Smith invited me to play with her last summer in Grand Bend and I said hey, do you want to join me for this song because she has such a unique rock kind of voice and I thought it would be a cool collaboration and she ended up loving it so I hope we get to do that live again because it was a lot of fun."
The visual side of the EP is just as polished, particularly the video for "Meant for This." It features Bobby Reynolds, Sarah Smith’s drummer, who also handled the sticks on the recording sessions.
"Bobby was in the recording for that as well and he was also in the recording for Someone Else," Emeny says. "He’s such a great guy and we had so much fun with the video and Darryl (Lahteenmaa) who I worked with for that was just phenomenal. We had a lot of fun working throughout the year and freezing our butts off in the middle of winter. I think the concept was really well placed with that one."
Releasing an EP during the height of the pandemic was a gamble that most artists lost. Without the ability to hold a release show, the momentum often dies in the water. Emeny felt that sting acutely, losing out on the immediate feedback of a live audience.
"Yeah, it’s really hard releasing during Covid because I didn’t get to do my release show," she says. "I had to postpone then I had a lot of follow up gigs that I unfortunately had to cancel. I’m just hitting the tail end of patio season now that things are starting to open a little again and trying to fit in a few shows before school starts and our patio weather is gone but I think the reception has been really positive."
Despite the lack of live venues, the record found a home on college radio. Radio Western 94.9 in London became a primary vehicle for the EP, showing the kind of localized support that is the lifeblood of the independent scene.
"I’ve had people come up to me and message me and tell me their favourite songs but right now I’m mostly selling hard copies of the EP on my own and hopefully with shows coming up I can sell more at shows," Emeny says. "People have been really supportive of it and it’s interesting to hear what their favourite songs are and why they connected to them."
The volatility of the charts is just part of the game. One week you are the toast of the town; the next, you are fighting for a spot in the top 10.
"Yeah, it hasn’t been too bad, it’s kind of back and forth, one week it’s at number 2 and the next week it’s not on the chart and then it’s back again," Emeny says. "It’s been nice to have the support of Radio Western and just having my name out there, it’s really great because you’re hoping that it reaches new audiences."
But Emeny’s impact on London goes beyond the 94.9 airwaves. Her background as an educator has bled into her music career in the form of community activism. Specifically, her work providing supplies for students who were left behind by the shift to pandemic-era schooling protocols.
"That is, it’s connected to my school, especially with everything with Covid," Emeny says. "I usually do a Christmas fundraiser. I’ve done it the last two years, where we focus on families in need within our building and then I have friends and family who choose to sponsor a family or a specific child and give them a chance to have a decent Christmas."
When the pandemic hit, the need for supplies became a logistical nightmare for many families. Emeny used her platform to bridge that gap.
"When Covid happened we were kind of unsure how we were going to deal with it in the school and with all the protocols we needed to make sure each student has enough supplies because they can’t share anything," Emeny says. "So I said to my principal what do you think about just putting it out there and see who’s willing to donate backpacks or supplies or money and the response was pretty overwhelming."
The local business community stepped up too. Lou Dawgs, a staple for live music and BBQ in downtown London, partnered with Emeny to turn a performance into a benefit.
"Lou Dawgs here in London reached out and wanted to help so we connected with them and arranged to put on a show where I’m doing a small opening spot and half of the door proceeds are going to the cause," Emeny says.
It is refreshing to see an artist who understands that the "scene" is not just about who has the best pedalboard or the most Spotify streams. It is about the people who live in the same postal code. Emeny is using her talent to stabilize her community, and in doing so, she has made herself indispensable to London. *The Right Mistakes* is a solid record, but the woman behind it is an even better story. Let’s hope the return of live music allows her to finally get that release show she deserves.
