Ember Swift
Key Cinemas (4044 S. Keystone Ave.)
Saturday, Jan. 26, 7:30 p.m., $12 adv., $15 door, all-ages

Ontario-born singer-songwriter Ember Swift has been writing songs since she was nine years old and performing since she was ten. Since finishing up college (with a degree in East Asian Studies), Swift has devoted her time to music.

Swift’s tours have taken her band (Lyndell Montgomery, bass and violin and Liz Kelly on drums) all over the world. “We’ve been touring for over ten years now, all over North America and Australia, New Caledonia and now China,” says Swift. “It’s been a crazy adventure the whole time.” She’s gathered a fiercely loyal fan base thanks to her high-energy shows and global activism.

Swift was invited to Indianapolis to perform in the Indy Indie music series. Cathy Schneider and Joyce Walker formed Indy Indie in August 2003 when a touring musician needed an Indianapolis show to make enough gas money to drive from Seattle to Boston for a gig. The fundraising gig, planned as a house concert, was so well attended that it had to be moved to the neighborhood clubhouse.

After that first show, says Schneider, “there was no turning back. We have since expanded to several other venues and produced two large outdoor festivals spotlighting independent women artists of all media, trying to reach all kinds of audiences.”

Schneider and Walker booked Swift and her band because they were passionate about her music and performance style. “The first time we saw them perform, we both felt something in the first few notes,” says Schneider. “Montgomery wields her violin not as a tool to be used, but as an extension of her body to amplify the music that is coming out of her pores. We can’t wait to have them come to Indianapolis to this special venue!

“Dirty Pulse, the latest CD, is an amazing evolution of their talents,” continues Schneider. “They appeal to both a younger crowd and older but still ‘hip’ group. Indianapolis needs a dose of Ember Swift.”

Find out more about the Indy Indie concert series at www.indyindie.com.