Maine Musicians: Kip & Emily Young
Kip Young and Emily Young perform together as the father-daughter acoustic duo Em & Co., a partnership that began about fifteen years ago. Their set list comes from the music they enjoy listening to, with Emily often suggesting songs and Kip working out how to arrange them for acoustic guitar. Kip, who spent years playing electric guitar in rock bands, says the acoustic duo has become one of the most enjoyable musical projects he’s ever done. Both grew up in the small lobster fishing town of Corea, Maine.
A Father-Daughter Duo
Kip and Emily Young are a father-daughter acoustic duo who perform together as Em & Co., bringing a laid-back mix of songs, stories, and local charm to stages around Bar Harbor and the Downeast Maine coast. The two have been playing together for roughly fifteen years, a partnership that started casually when Emily was about ten years old. Kip, who spent years recording and playing music in his home studio, remembers his daughter hanging around the microphones as a kid, curious about what he was doing. One day she asked him to learn a Taylor Swift song, and before long the two of them had worked up a set. Their first performance together came at a teacher’s wedding reception, where they played a few songs. After that, Emily would occasionally join her father on stage with his band, sitting in for a few tunes before the idea of performing regularly as a duo slowly took shape.
Over time they began playing small local spots, including early acoustic shows in Birch Harbor, and eventually experimented with a full band setup with bigger sound and lights. That version didn’t last long, though, and the pair realized they preferred the simpler, more relaxed feel of acoustic shows. In recent years they’ve become regular performers around Bar Harbor, especially at outdoor daytime shows where the atmosphere is easygoing and the crowd is there to listen. They’ve played dozens of shows each summer, and Kip, who also performs with several other bands, stays busy most weekends, while Emily balances music with her work as a cosmetologist. Kip works as a counselor, but both hope to spend more time focusing on music as the shows keep coming.
The duo’s song list reflects whatever they happen to be listening to at the time. Emily often suggests songs she likes, while Kip figures out how to translate them to acoustic guitar, even when the originals are built around piano or full band arrangements. The result is a set that jumps between styles but keeps the same mellow groove. For Kip, who spent years playing louder rock and blues in electric bands, the acoustic format has been a welcome challenge and one of the most enjoyable things he’s done in music.
Both grew up in the small lobster fishing town of Corea, Maine, in Gouldsboro. Today Kip still lives there, surrounded by woods and wildlife, while Emily has been living and working nearby in Hancock County. Wherever they play, they say the best part is the people they meet along the way. Performing in Bar Harbor has brought them audiences from all over the world, along with regulars who come back every summer to hear them again. Looking ahead, Kip and Emily hope to write more of their own songs and spend even more time playing together, building on a musical partnership that started at home and grew into something they now share with crowds all across the coast.
Find Maine Musicians, Kip Young and Emily Young at:
- Em & Co.
- @emandkip
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