emily the band is a three-piece queer girl group based in Peoria, Illinois. Emily Antonacci, Camryn Proctor, and Abbey Haste began to share their indie alt-pop anthems with audiences in the Peoria area in April 2021. Since then, they have expanded their reach to Champaign-Urbana, Bloomington-Normal, Iowa City, and Nashville. Their highly-anticipated, independently-produced debut album, the heartbreak album (2022), has been described as a "hooky pop-gem" (Jon Norton, WGLT).

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After meeting at Richwoods High School in 2016, Emily and Camyrn quickly became friends and musical collaborators. The combination of Emily's emotional lyrics and Camryn's unique arrangement abilities provided a fresh take on ukulele pop. In 2019 they combined forces with producer Connor Billard to record Emily's first-ever release, "messy (feat. Cami Proctor)." The three of them continued to work together to produce "tokyo" (2020) and the "living room" EP (2021). 

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To commemorate the release of "living room," Emily and Camryn invited Abbey Haste to play drums at their EP release show in April 2021. Camryn and Abbey had been bandmates in The Blank Stairs since 2017. Their preexisting musical chemistry was incredibly evident during the performance. The addition of Emily's ukulele and vocals created a perfect storm. By the end of that summer, the trio became an official band. The project was rebranded from "emily" to "emily the band."

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The three friends spent the winter of 2021 making trio arrangements for Emily's archive of heartbreak songs with plans to turn it into an album. They stuck with the working title, the heartbreak album, for the final product. The album was co-produced by Camryn Proctor and Connor Billard. The band completed most of the tracking for the project in Camryn's living room/home studio, which gives the album's sound a familiar and comforting aura. The band also worked together on the album's visual aspects, including illustrations and graphic design for the CD's packaging. Peoria- based photographer Caspian Voss directed and executed the photography associated with the project.

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the heartbreak album (2022) became available on all streaming platforms on September 30, 2022, following the release of four lead singles, "zero gravity," "relics," "brooklyn lady," and "bullet." The album includes two bonus tracks– "messy (remix)" and "tokyo (remix)." The band decided to include these re-recorded tracks to showcase the updated style of the songs' live arrangements. 

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The trio has been privileged to share stages with some of their favorite acts, including The Accidentals, Good Morning Bedlam, Sarah & The Underground, and more. Their live performances strengthen with each show as they tour the album. With hopes to tour nationally and create more music, emily the band does not show any sign of slowing down.