# Emily Roberts > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Emily_Roberts > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Emily_Roberts.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Roberts > Source revision: 1352583586 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|British guitarist and composer (born 1998)}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Emily Roberts | image = File:Emily Roberts (1) The Last Dinner Party Rahmenprogramm New Pop Festival 2024 Konzertmuschel Baden-Baden P1020374 2024-09-14 yj (cropped).jpg | caption = Roberts performing in Germany, 2024 | birth_name = Emily Jane Roberts | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} | birth_place = | origin = [Chester](/source/Chester), [Cheshire](/source/Cheshire), England | occupation = {{flatlist| * Guitarist * composer * producer * [mandolin](/source/mandolin)ist * [flautist](/source/Western_concert_flute) * vocalist }} | years_active = 2014–present | current_member_of = [The Last Dinner Party](/source/The_Last_Dinner_Party) }} '''Emily Jane Roberts''' is an English guitarist and composer. She is the lead guitarist of the [indie rock](/source/indie_rock) band [The Last Dinner Party](/source/The_Last_Dinner_Party), and has a background in [jazz](/source/jazz) and [classical music](/source/classical_music). == Early life and education == Emily Jane Roberts grew up in [Chester](/source/Chester%2C_Cheshire){{cite news |last=Dean |first=Jonathan |date=4 February 2024 |title=The Last Dinner Party: ‘It’s fun to be pretentious’ |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/the-last-dinner-party-album-prelude-to-ecstasy-members-cvm6vwr7p |location=London, England |publisher=The Times |access-date=1 February 2026}}{{cite news |last=Savage |first=Mark |date=7 November 2023 |title=The Last Dinner Party: 'Being a hyped, buzzy band can be a curse' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67331635 |work=BBC News |location=London, England |publisher=BBC |access-date=13 February 2026}} in the [north west](/source/north_west_of_England) county of [Cheshire](/source/Cheshire), England, and began playing guitar at the age of six; however, she found guitar lessons boring and quit. At age nine, she returned to the instrument, learning acoustic guitar from a local teacher.{{Cite web |title=15 questions {{!}} Interview {{!}} Emily Jane Roberts {{!}} Beyond the Safety Limit |url=https://15questions.net/interview/fifteen-questions-interview-emily-jane-roberts/page-1/ |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=15questions.net}}{{Cite web|url=https://guitar.com/features/interviews/the-last-dinner-party-interview-prelude-to-ecstasy/|title=How The Last Dinner Party embraced individuality to become the band everyone's talking about|website=Guitar.com | All Things Guitar}} She attended [King's School, Macclesfield](/source/King's_School%2C_Macclesfield){{cite journal|journal=Kings Speech|issue=11|year=2024|pages=12–13|title=Emily's true Brit|url=https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1712052993/kingsmaccouk/ohthsy71gyvfjmjmvufe/Kingsspeech_24_FINAL.pdf}} before moving to [Manchester](/source/Manchester) to attend [Chetham's School of Music](/source/Chetham's_School_of_Music), where she studied both jazz and classical guitar. During her time there, she was a member of Chetham's Big Band and the Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra. She later accepted a place in the BMus Jazz course at the [Guildhall School of Music and Drama](/source/Guildhall_School_of_Music_and_Drama) in London. Roberts was a semi-finalist in the [BBC](/source/BBC) Young Jazz Musician competition in 2020.{{Cite web|url=https://jazzjournal.co.uk/2022/09/17/emily-jane-roberts-the-persistence-of-memory/|title=Emily Jane Roberts: The Persistence Of Memory|first=Roger|last=Farbey|date=17 September 2022|via=JazzJournal}} == Career == Roberts' professional career began in 2014 when she joined the Creative Leadership Ensemble, a project focused on encouraging women in jazz. From 2016 to 2021, she performed with a variety of orchestras at the [Royal Festival Hall](/source/Royal_Festival_Hall), the Wigan International Jazz Festival, the [Barbican Concert Hall](/source/Barbican_Centre), among others, and performed with Guildhall Jazz and the BBC Singers in a concert broadcast on [BBC Radio 3](/source/BBC_Radio_3).{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/extra/VqhEX7YYXY/BBC-Singers-10-December|title=A Roaring Twenties Christmas|website=BBC Proms}} She gained experience in musical theatre by serving as the official electric guitar, [mandolin](/source/mandolin), bass, and acoustic guitar understudy for the [West End](/source/West_End_theatre) production of ''[Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour](/source/Our_Ladies_of_Perpetual_Succour)'' at the [Duke of York's Theatre](/source/Duke_of_York's_Theatre) in summer 2017.{{Cite web |date=1 November 2020 |title=Home |website=Emily Roberts Guitarist |url=https://www.emilyrobertsguitarist.com/ |access-date=2024-09-23 |archive-date=2020-11-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101024857/https://www.emilyrobertsguitarist.com/ |url-status=bot: unknown }} Roberts toured with [neofolk](/source/neofolk) artist [Blanco White](/source/Blanco_White) in 2018 and performed with various artists across different genres, including London based [indie pop](/source/indie_pop) band Pink Haze, and a Babyshambles cover band called "Ladyshambles."{{Cite web |title=Instagram |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh3oMuOnZ-V/?igsh=MXduenRvcHVyanBqbw|access-date=2024-09-23 |website=www.instagram.com}} She joined a [Queen](/source/Queen_(band)) tribute band called Fat Bottomed Girls in 2019. She attributes the time she spent that summer "trying to get inside [Brian](/source/Brian_May)'s playing" as a strong influence on her later style of playing. In the end, the tribute band only played live once, at a convention near Hull.{{Cite web|url=https://www.guitarworld.com/news/the-last-dinner-party-emily-roberts-brian-may|title="I spent an entire summer solidly trying to get inside Brian's playing, hearing all the little details": The Last Dinner Party's Emily Roberts on how a Brian May tribute gig radically changed her guitar playing|first1=Janelle|last1=Borg|first2=Amit|last2=Amit|date=4 June 2024|website=guitarworld}} In 2021, Roberts began a song-writing collaboration with fellow musician Georgia Williams. As a duo, they called themselves Wednesday's Child, and released a debut five-track EP of the same name in 2021.{{Cite web|url=https://rgm.press/we-review-the-new-self-titled-ep-from-wednesdays-child/review/|title=We review the new self titled EP from Wednesdays Child; RGM : Reyt Good Magazine|date=November 5, 2021|website=rgm.press}}{{Cite web|url=https://musomuso.com/news/i-caught-up-with-wednesdays-child-after-their-spellbindingly-great-set-at-the-great-estate-festival|title=I caught up with Wednesday's Child after their spellbindingly great set at the Great Estate Festival|date=14 June 2022|website=musomuso.com}} Wednesday's Child featured on a couple of [Tom Robinson](/source/Tom_Robinson)'s 'BBC Introducing' mixtape featuring unsigned artists.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/webarchive/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fblogs%2Fintroducing%2Fentries%2Fd78a24f4-633b-4a20-9683-fc1ad2f96057|title=BBC Blogs - BBC Music Introducing - BBC Music Introducing Mixtape: 25 October 2021|work=BBC }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/webarchive/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fblogs%2Fintroducing%2Fentries%2F320e635d-ff4b-4b02-9b46-5e3995b40ef2|title=BBC Blogs - BBC Music Introducing - BBC Music Introducing Mixtape: 22 January 2024|work=BBC }} They began performing live shows as a five-piece band, and in July 2023 released another EP, ''Seven Sisters''.{{Cite web|url=https://plasticmag.co.uk/2023/07/new-ep-from-wednesdays-child/|title=New EP from Wednesday's Child|via=Plastic Magazine}} This EP featured seven songs about seven women; all of which were composed jointly by Roberts and Williams.{{Cite web|url=https://rgm.press/rgm-introducing-we-interview-london-band-wednesdays-child-2/interview/|title=RGM Introducing – we interview London Band Wednesday's Child. RGM: Reyt Good Magazine|date=20 April 2023|website=rgm.press}} Tracks from this EP have been played on BBC radio, including "Theda" and "Paula" on BBC Radio London.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0dzt0f8|title=BBC Music - BBC Music Introducing, London, Featured Artist: John|website=BBC}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0f4y4f3|title=BBC Music - BBC Music Introducing, London, Featured Artist Tommy Lefroy|website=BBC}} In 2022, Roberts released a solo jazz EP, ''The Persistence of Memory'', which critics commended for its "exciting mix of styles ... jazz ... and soul", and for Robert's arrangements.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sonicsoulreviews.com/2022/04/10/sundays-jazz-selection-pt-2-emily-jane-roberts-the-persistance-of-memory-nimbus-sextet-high-time-luke-smith-ft-jackson-mathod-the-resurrection-shane-cooper-mabuta-finish-t/|title=Sunday's Jazz Selection Pt. 2 – Emily Jane Roberts "The Persistance Of Memory" .. Sonic Soul Reviews (in German)|date=10 April 2022}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.jazzrevelations.com/post/premiere-emily-jane-roberts-the-persistence-of-memory|title=Premiere: Emily Jane Roberts - The Persistence of Memory|first=Ally J.|last=Steel|date=5 April 2022|website=Jazz Revelations}} The EP release was followed by live performances by Roberts at the annual [London Jazz Festival](/source/London_Jazz_Festival),{{Cite web|url=https://southwarknews.co.uk/area/south-london/all-that-jazz/|title=All That Jazz|via=SouthwarkNews|date=15 November 2022}} and tracks from the EP have had airplay on [BBC Radio 3](/source/BBC_Radio_3).{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0022lgh|title=BBC Radio 3 - 'Round Midnight, A Marcus Joseph Remix|date=10 September 2024|website=BBC}} [[File:The Last Dinner Party.jpg|left|thumb|Roberts on stage with [Abigail Morris](/source/Abigail_Morris_(musician)) in 2025]] Roberts also played as a session guitarist for the musical ''[Six](/source/Six_(musical))'',{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/jun/28/last-dinner-party-misogyny-maximalism-glastonbury|title=The Last Dinner Party on misogyny, maximalism and making it big: 'Men think they're the arbiters of rock'|first=Elle|last=Hunt|date=28 June 2024|newspaper=The Guardian}} before joining The Last Dinner Party in 2022. She plays lead guitar,{{cite web|url=https://guitar.com/features/interviews/the-last-dinner-party-emily-roberts-interview-from-the-pyre/|title=The Last Dinner Party's Emily Roberts on why she decided to embrace her most "outrageous" guitar impulses on new album From The Pyre|first= Sophie|last=McVinnie|website=Guitar.com|date=21 October 2025}} mandolin,{{Cite web|url=https://www.guitarworld.com/features/the-last-dinner-party-emily-roberts-prelude-to-ecstasy|title="It wasn't a conscious decision to invent our own scale! The idea was to do something inspired by Jeff Buckley... but we added a mandolin": The Last Dinner Party's Emily Roberts is the jazz-schooled Queen-inspired indie guitar hero you've been waiting for|first=Amit|last=Sharma|date=2 July 2024|magazine=[Guitar World](/source/Guitar_World)}} and flute, and contributes to song writing and backing vocals. In reviews of the Last Dinner Party's debut album, ''[Prelude to Ecstasy](/source/Prelude_to_Ecstasy)'', Robert's guitar playing was described as "soaring, impressively stadium-ready axe heroics".{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/feb/01/the-last-dinner-party-prelude-to-ecstasy-review|title=The Last Dinner Party: Prelude to Ecstasy review – the year's most hyped band totally deliver|first=Alexis|last=Petridis|date=February 1, 2024|newspaper=The Guardian}} Her live performances have also attracted positive reviews, with music critic [Kitty Empire](/source/Kitty_Empire) noting how Roberts "peels off rock solos with a Mona Lisa smile ... [and] precision and sangfroid".{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/feb/03/the-last-dinner-party-the-fleece-bristol-review-prelude-to-ecstasy-like-watching-firecrackers-going-off-indoors|title=The Last Dinner Party review – like watching firecrackers going off indoors|first=Kitty|last=Empire|date=3 February 2024|newspaper=The Guardian}} She normally plays a [St. Vincent](/source/St._Vincent_(musician))-signature Goldie from [Music Man](/source/Music_Man_(company)).{{cite magazine|title=Why The Last Dinner Party's Emily Roberts plays a St. Vincent guitar|url=https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/the-last-dinner-partys-emily-roberts-on-using-music-man-st-vincent-signature-guitars|first=Janelle|last=Borg|date=21 October 2025|magazine=[Guitar World](/source/Guitar_World)}}{{cite magazine|title=Emily Roberts: Brian May & Johnny Marr's new fave guitarist|url=https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/emily-roberts-last-dinner-party-the-pyre|first=Cheri|last=Amour|date=4 December 2025|magazine=[Guitar World](/source/Guitar_World)}}{{cite magazine|title=How The Last Dinner Party's Emily Roberts was inspired by EVH|url=https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/the-last-dinner-party-emily-roberts-on-getting-inspired-by-eddie-van-halen|first1=Janelle|last1=Borg|first2=Cheri|last2=Amour|date=21 November 2025|magazine=[Guitar World](/source/Guitar_World)}} In 2024, Roberts was one of the guests who performed on [Sophie Ellis-Bextor](/source/Sophie_Ellis-Bextor)'s [New Year's Eve Disco](/source/BBC_New_Year's_Eve_specials), which was broadcast on [BBC One](/source/BBC_One).{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/articles/sophie-ellis-bextor-new-years-eve-disco|title=Sophie Ellis-Bextor's New Year's Eve Disco - Meet the line-up|date=31 December 2024|work=BBC Media Centre}} ==Discography (solo career)== ===EP=== {| class="wikitable" !|Release date !|Artist !|Title !|Label |- |8 July 2022 |Emily Jane Roberts |''The Persistence of Memory''{{cite web|url=https://musicbrainz.org/release/e22d08dc-c8fa-4937-b979-4f2e65f204fa|title=Emily Jane Roberts (jazz musician)|via=MusicBrainz}} |BridgeTheGap |- |} ===Track listing, ''The Persistence of Memory'' EP=== *"I'll Tell You How the Sun Rose" *"The Persistence of Memory", featuring Alice McCarthy *"Mean Time" *"Welcome to a Prayer" *"Relaxing at the Underbelly" == References == {{reflist}} {{The Last Dinner Party}} {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Emily}} Category:Living people Category:21st-century British guitarists Category:Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Category:English women guitarists Category:People educated at Chetham's School of Music Category:Women jazz guitarists Category:English women singer-songwriters Category:The Last Dinner Party members Category:Year of birth missing (living people) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Emily Roberts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Roberts) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Roberts?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.