EMILY LALIOTIS

Emily Laliotis is a Los Angeles–based Folk Pop/Alt-Americana artist who pairs intimate acoustic foundations with contemporary sounds. Her songwriting draws on the narrative traditions of folk music, approaching real life experiences with levity and frankness, while delivering an emotional clarity rarely seen in her genre. 

After multiple tours up the West Coast and founding a successful house concert series (Song Soup) in 2025, Emily returned to Los Angeles with the fire of community and connection burning behind her. Through her many performances with Open Folk LA at the Hotel Cafe, Laliotis was inspired to put community at the center of her work. Booking herself and other artists in multiple cities and venues across Southern CA, Emily is an active member of the growing momentum of the folk music scene in LA. These artists have inspired her to embark on a focused, dedicated journey through writing, production, release, promotion, and booking, all as an indie artist. She was a finalist in the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival’s “Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase” in 2025. In 2026, she will tour to promote her new album this summer with Paula Fong. 

Emily’s artistic history spans a wide variety of interests and chapters. Awarded first prize at Greeks Got Talent at the age of 14, composing and performing original music for Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice at 17, and self-producing and releasing her first record Single Step at 19 laid the groundwork for her love of songwriting. She went on to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Vocal Performance from The University of Puget Sound, honing her craft as a vocalist in Classical and Musical Theater styles. Simultaneously, Emily was a section leader for Adelphian Concert Choir, musical director of her college a cappella group, and a student of Byzantine Chant under Alexander Khalil. As a full time music professional in the LA area for almost a decade, she has honed her skill of performance and professionalism through hundreds of gigs as a vocalist and singer-songwriter.

Back to Dirt is Laliotis’ newest project, coming out summer 2026. It showcases the way she expertly uses the one-two punch of humor + darkness, with tracks like “Every Member of My Family is Depressed." Taking inspiration from rising Americana stars like Courtney Marie Andrews, she packages disarming songwriting with modern production touches and powerful vocals. The tracks were made primarily with producer/writer Jordan Ruiz (Lucy Clearwater, Hannah Connolly), whose pop-forward methods allowed for new textures to unfold around the roots foundations of the songs. From “Dirt,” with its swampy darkness exposing our human shadow to “Hold the Line” and its stark, fraught freedom, Laliotis and Ruiz worked together in the sandbox of the studio to create real moments. That’s what getting back to dirt is about– finding joy and play in every part of the creative process.