Singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and interpreter of traditional song Emily Smith is one of the leading figures on the contemporary Scottish folk scene. Born in Dumfries and Galloway, Smith spent her early childhood performing at her mother's dance school, but developed a love of music after taking up the piano, snare drum, and accordion. After discovering her vocal abilities in the school choir, she moved to Glasgow, where she earned an honors degree in Scottish music at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. In 2002, she won BBC Radio Scotland's Young Traditional Music of the Year award and released her debut album, A Day Like Today, which was followed by A Different Life (2005), Too Long Away (2008), and Adoon Winding Nith (2009), a collaboration with New Zealand musician and husband Jamie McClennan, released to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of bard Robert Burns. Following mainstream exposure on BBC's Songs of Praise and Hogmanay Live, she released her most high-profile album, Traveller's Joy, in 2011. ~ Jon O'Brien