Miss Emily brings her blues and soul to the back room at Hub City Vinyl

The JUNO-nominated Ontario singer plays Live at Hub City Vinyl in Hagerstown on Wednesday, Nov. 18, with tickets from $25.

Hub City Vinyl's motto is "business in the front, party in the back." In the daytime, the front of the downtown Hagerstown shop is more than 20,000 records. On Wednesday, Nov. 18, the back room belongs to a JUNO-nominated singer from Ontario.

Miss Emily plays Live at Hub City Vinyl on Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 8 p.m. The show was announced Oct. 15. Tickets are $25 to $40 through Eventbrite.

If the name is new to you, here's the short version. Miss Emily is a singer-songwriter from Prince Edward County, Ontario, who has been performing for more than 20 years. Her résumé includes Canadian Blues Awards and a 2022 JUNO nomination, and her bookings this year have taken her across Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and Europe. At home she plays everything from the Kingston Grand to an unplugged set at the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough.

Western Maryland has already had a taste. In September she played the Gallery Stage in Cumberland, so for anyone who caught that show, this is a chance to see her again closer to I-81. For anyone who missed it, Hagerstown is the easier drive.

The room is the other half of the story. Owner Lloyd Thoburn built the concert space in the same building, behind the record store. Hagerstown Magazine and the Frederick News-Post have both covered how it has put downtown Hagerstown on the map for live music. Visit Maryland describes it as an intimate venue for regional and national touring acts. This fall's calendar shows what that means, with acts like The Amish Outlaws and Ghalia Volt coming through. The venue has also been expanding its live-music space, a sign that the back room is doing well.

For a blues and soul singer, an intimate room behind a record store is a good fit. You'll be close enough to hear the voice without the PA doing all the work, and you're a few steps from crates of records on the way out.

Business in the front, party in the back, on a Wednesday in November.

Practical notes: it's a weeknight, so plan your evening around an 8 p.m. start, and buy ahead. A room this size doesn't need many people to sell out. If you get there early, spend some time in the front of the store. It's hard to think of a better pre-show than flipping through the bins.

Miss Emily has come a long way from Prince Edward County to play a back room in Hagerstown. Give her a crowd that makes it worth the trip.

Sources: Miss Emily at Live at Hub City Vinyl – Eventbrite (eventbrite.com); Miss Emily – Showpass (showpass.com); Miss Emily – Kingston Grand (kingstongrand.ca); Music in the Museum: Miss Emily Unplugged – Canadian Canoe Museum (canoemuseum.ca); Miss Emily Live at Gallery Stage – Ticket Tailor (tickettailor.com); Hub City Vinyl puts Hagerstown on the map for music lovers – Frederick News-Post (fredericknewspost.com); Turn Up the Volume – Hagerstown Magazine (hagerstownmagazine.com); Live! Hub City Vinyl – Visit Maryland (visitmaryland.org); Live at Hub City Vinyl – JamBase (jambase.com); Hagerstown’s Hub City Vinyl expanding its live music venue – DC News Now (dcnewsnow.com); The Largest Record Store In Maryland – Only In Your State (onlyinyourstate.com)