Hi, I'm Emily Louise

I had the pleasure of seeing Abigail Washburn perform live last night at the Cotton Club here in Shanghai. 

In short, the woman is amazing. Her story should probably be made into a Lifetime movie. Raised in Tennessee, she went to Colorado College and was the first East Asian Studies major there. She learned to speak Mandarin, and when she went to China for the first time, she brought a banjo along, as she wanted to bring a small piece of America with her. She continued her Chinese studies at Middlebury’s language school over two separate summers, and eventually applied to law school in Beijing, all the while continuing to practice and play the banjo. Apparently just days before she was meant to start her first year of law school, Abigail got an offer to make a record with a group called Uncle Earl, and she accepted the offer and passed on law school. Talk about a life-altering decision…!

The show was completely captivating. The songs ranged from West Virginian/Appalachian folk songs to 1930s Shanghai jazz. The song I’ve included here is one off her most recent album, both of which are called “City of Refuge.” Enjoy. 

(As a complete side note, I listened to a WTF with Marc Maron podcast the other day, and he interviewed Demetri Martin. Demetri is also a would-be lawyer, he spent a year at NYU Law before realizing he was born to be a stand up comedian. Perhaps the key to finding your life’s purpose is applying to law school…?)