Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Emerald Butler. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Emerald, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I started taking fiddle lessons when I was 7 years old after my grandfather, Dalton Butler, suggested my parents find me lessons. My Papaw Butler loved playing rhythm guitar and backing up fiddle tunes. I took “fiddle” lessons for a couple of years then my parents switched me to “classical violin” lessons. People always ask me what the difference between a violin & a fiddle is, and I always tell them “A violin has strings, and a fiddle has ‘strangs’ .” Anyway, I didn’t like violin lessons, so I quit playing for a few years until I was 12 and decided to try to play again, but I wanted to play fiddle music.

However, it wasn’t until I saw the Johnny Cash biopic “Walk The Line” that I realized that I wanted to pursue music full-time, and become not just a fiddle player but an entertainer. I was watching TV with my dad one evening when “Walk The Line” was airing on the CBS channel, and I asked my dad “What’s this?” He replied “It’s supposed to be a movie about Johnny Cash,” and I was like, “Who’s Johnny Cash?” My dad told me that he was a singer back in the day. I believe I started watching right around the time of the movie when Johnny Cash did his first live performance, and then you saw Elvis perform, and I was hooked. I fell in love with the whole aesthetic of that movie. The music, the fashion, etc. That movie helped turn me into an American music history nerd. I started reading Johnny Cash’s autobiography then I would read whatever I could get my hands on regarding traditional country music & 50’s Rock’n’Roll.

Not long after I watched the movie with my dad, I was walking in Walmart with my mom, and they had one of those metal bins that they used to keep movies or CD’s in for like $5 or $10, and they had a Johnny Cash CD. I got excited because I thought that my dad must have really liked Johnny Cash since he watched that movie, so I bought the CD and took it to him. He wasn’t as thrilled with the CD as I was. When I gave it to him he told me that he was never really a Johnny Cash fan, so I ended up confiscating the CD from him and listened to it myself. I just became a huge Johnny Cash fan, especially after reading his biography. I loved his story of second chances. Then third & fourth chances.

A year or two after that my dad took me to Nashville to SPBGMA. It’s a big bluegrass convention where musicians play music in the hotel rooms & lobby day and night. The second day we were in Nashville, my dad took me to tour the Ryman Auditorium. The tour guide at the Ryman told us that we could go to the Country Music Hall of Fame for free that day too. I believe they called it their Community Day. When I think back over my life and look for moments that have made me who I am, I truly believe that day in Nashville was one of those days. Touring the Ryman was magical. It was where the Grand Ole Opry used to be and where my heroes performed. At the end of the Ryman tour, my dad and I were standing outside by the statue of Captain Thomas Ryman (the man who built the auditorium) and my dad told me “if you really want too, and if you work hard enough, you can play on that stage too”. That experience totally reinforced my desire to be an entertainer.

Emerald, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I got into this industry by just putting myself out there as much as possible which in some ways has been hard. I grew up in the woods and about 45 minutes out of the city of Chattanooga, TN. My parents still don’t have fast internet at their house. They only have some cell service, but there’s a whole debacle with the power and phone companies in their area to where they don’t have access to any internet outside of cell service or I guess dial-up. I was also pretty shy as a kid and I had to push myself a lot to jump into music jams and let myself be heard. In 2018 I graduated from MTSU with a bachelors in Music Business & a minor in Marketing. I interned at Compass Records in Nashville while I was in school. College gave me some neat opportunities, but I’ve seen where the process of music has been about stepping stones. I played with one artist who told another artist about me who had this opportunity, etc.

I am most well known as a fiddle player. I play everything from Appalachian music to Rock’N’Roll. I have played for various artists and bands; basically whoever needs and wants a fiddler. I have toured nationally with artists like piano rockin’ Jason D. Williams, and hit songwriter Roger Alan Wade, I have made guest performances with Bluegrass stars like Rhonda Vincent and Becky Buller. I have opened for artists like Randy Travis, Larry Fleet, The Gatlin Brothers, Sara Evans, T.G. Sheppard, Gene Watson, and John Anderson. I do not claim to be the best fiddle player, but I am one of the most entertaining fiddle players. I love to get out into the crowd, dance, shake, and jump on tables and bars. I have a lot of fun. I play by ear and by feel. I don’t quite play like nobody else and nobody else plays quite like me.

I’m also a songwriter. I sing and I play rhythm guitar. I’m working on learning how to play lead guitar and more mandolin, but during my own “Emerald Butler” or “Emerald Butler Band” shows, I mainly sing, play acoustic rhythm guitar, and fiddle.
I released my first EP of all original songs in 2020. It was probably not the greatest timing with COVID and all, but I’m really proud of those recordings and even prouder of the songs. The majority of my music pulls from my own life experiences and feelings. Those mainly seem to revolve around nostalgia, mental health journeys, and independence. However, I do have a few love songs.

I use the word entertainer a lot because I don’t want to just be a fiddle player or a singer or a songwriter. My true joy comes from putting on an entertaining show for people. I don’t just stand in one spot and sing or play. I acknowledge the audience and invite them to be part of the show with me. I think if I’ve got anything going for me it’s that. I’m not the best at anything. I guess the only thing that I can really be the best at is being myself. However, I’m finding that even that is a journey.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Right after college, I went out on a tour with an artist. This was a challenging year in my life. A lot of changes were happening, I had just had my first real heartbreak, I had been through some trauma, and I was slowly realizing that my mental health was not great. Still, I went out on this tour and we drove out west for days in a vehicle that had no AC in 90+ degree weather. As I was sitting in the back of the vehicle I was becoming more aware that I was depressed and I was having a lot of intrusive thoughts. A couple of days and shows later, we were playing a show & the venue owner kept making hints about sleeping with me and he would grab my waist, and it was just very uncomfortable and honestly triggering to me. Long story short, I ended up having to get my own hotel room that night and really fend for myself outside of the band. I finished that leg of the tour which lasted for a few more days, but once I got home and gave myself time to think I quit the tour. I quit for my own mental health and safety concerns. I look back and wonder if I could have handled things differently, but especially after that night on tour, my mental health plummeted. I quit playing music for almost half a year. I didn’t want anything to do with the things that for so many years felt like a part of my identity. I spent the next several months going to counseling and trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. It felt like everything I had been working for didn’t matter anymore.

Then towards the end of the year, I got asked to play with a gospel artist and do a weekend show out in Missouri for a camp fundraiser. I had a lot of mixed feelings about traveling after my last experience, but this time it was different. I think it was good for me to see that I could still do the thing and I would still be ok. I told a few people about what happened during that first tour, and I had a lot of people who told me that I shouldn’t talk about it if I still wanted to play music and get gigs. Honestly, I still get anxious talking about it now, but I don’t share to hate on anybody. What happened happened, and I think we all could have communicated better or done things differently; including myself. I think I want to share because I’d like for other people to know that they’re not alone if they’ve had similar experiences on the road. I also don’t want to paint a picture of touring and the music industry being this dark scary place. There are a lot of awesome people and experiences out there. I also feel like there’s a lot of general conversations about mental health going on today. Whether the music industry is involved or not. My healing and growth hasn’t happened overnight. It’s been a journey and life has thrown more things at me. If I have a good story of resilience it’s probably this one because I did quit. Not just the tour, but the music. I got knocked down hard, and I was on the ground for a few months. However, while I was on the ground I looked for the tools I needed to help get me back up. So here I am today. I’m still playing music, I still go on tours, and I’m still learning that it is ok to pause to get the tools and help you need.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Right now I’m trying to figure out the best way to combine the history of traditional country, rockabilly, and roots music with my own show and music. I see more people interested in the genres and history now than I did when I was a teenager. Or at least, I think there is more of an openness and curiosity for it. I want to be someone who helps preserve the music and stories that gave us what we have today. I’m trying to find that balance of sharing this older music without imitating it while also sharing my own stories and music.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.emeraldbutler.net/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emeraldfiddler/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emeraldfiddler/?ref=bookmarks
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvQ8lljLMKp5iVHhykUXdjA
• Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/69Tx26tdwAe2HRf4h3lN5d?si=4LyqMjgMQOKWAI2b1IIkKA

Image Credits
Rachel Mcintyre Smith Sara Anne Saggoner Jade Watts