A Silent Cry A Memorial Day Poem by Emily E. Finke Read the poem on the blog: https://www.emilyefinke.com/post/a-silent-cry-a-memorial-day-poem Hello, my friends! I hope you have had a very blessed holiday weekend thus far. I am honored to share with you all this tribute poem that I wrote for Memorial Day as we remember all our military personnel who have lost their lives in defense of this country. As we enjoy our many freedoms today, we do so with a grateful heart for each and every sacrifrice that made these freedoms possible. We thank God for courageous men and women who answered their country's call with their lives. Freedom is not and will never be free. May we never forget the high price that comes with defending that freedom. May we never forget those who paid the ultimate price. May their sacrifices never be in vain.

Shoutout Miami Local Stories Interview Read the story here: https://shoutoutmiami.com/emily-e-finke-creative-entrepreneur-musician/ I am so grateful to Shoutout Miami and Voyage MIA for their constant support! It was such a pleasure and a great honor to be able to share my story with them for this new publication. Having the support of local organizations is a tremendous blessing. I hope you enjoy reading the article ❤️

LIVESTREAM Adventures in Record Collecting Music Trivia Game Night Saturday, May 20, 2023 8:00 pm ET Access/Watch the Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDycf46c44M *If you wish to join the livestream in person, please save/use the link above to join the stream on YouTube and access the Live Chat feature. (You must have a Google/YouTube account and be logged in to utilize the chat.) For best results, please access the Livestream via the YouTube website on a computer or via the YouTube app on your phone. *This livestream is exclusive to members of The Community. Please do not share the link or info.      Hi friends!! Here are the details for THIS SATURDAY'S Livestream. I'm so looking forward to hanging out with you all 🙂 It's going to be a fun night of chatting, music, and games. For this stream, we will be playing Music Trivia, and to give it an extra twist, all the music will be from my record collection, and all trivia will be based on my collection and from my video series, Adventures in Record Collecting. If you'd like to brush up on your knowledge of my record collection, I suggest checking out the forum category for Adventures in Record Collecting here: https://www.emilyefinke.com/community-forum/record-collecting and watching the posted videos. Not to worry, though, if you haven't been following along with the series as the majority of the questions will have multiple choice answers. And even if you aren't interested in playing along, you are still welcome to join the stream, hang out, listen to the music, and participate in the gamesas much as little as you wish. Also, if you cannot join at the beginning of the stream or stay for its entirety, you are welcome to join and play along at any point during the stream and stay for as long as you can/wish.      I know this is going to be another wonderful night of fellowship and fun and games, and I am looking forward to spending it with you. Take care, and I will see you all soon! 😁 *I will be starting the stream around 7:45 pm to sound check and get ready. I encourage you to join the stream around that time (especially if you will be joining a livestream for the first time) to make sure your connection works, you are logged in, and to familiarize yourself with the livestream features, ex. the Live Chat feature. If this will be your first time joining one of the Livestreams, here is some important info for you: The Basics of the Livestream: If this will be your first time joining one of my livestreams, here is a brief rundown of what it is and what to expect. Several times a year, I host a livestream (a broadcast streamed over the internet for live viewing) for members of The Community. Think of it like a virtual party, and you - a member of The Community - have exclusive access! The livestream is hosted on YouTube as the platform offers a Live Chat feature which allows members to interact in real time. (This chat feature is best accessed via the YouTube website on a computer or the YouTube app on a mobile device. You will also need to be logged into YouTube via a Google/YouTube account to access the chat.) The Basics of Game Night: Game Night is one of the favorite forms of Livestreams here in The Community with the particular favorite being Music Trivia. Game Night will feature fun and games based on trivia from a specified source (for this Saturday the source will be my record collection) as well as bonus entertainment. (Our Game Nights are purely for fun and friendly competition/interaction. There is no prize, but winner(s) will be inducted into our proverbial "Hall of Fame" 🙂) To play along with the games and trivia, I will ask the questions/host the games, and you will respond in the Live Chat feature with your answer within the allotted time. All players with the correct answer will receive a point. The player with the most points at the end of the stream is the winner! As an extra challenge and to keep things as fair as possible, it is encouraged for participants to play solely based on memory, i.e. no googling, no searching The Community posts, etc. If you are interested to know what kinds of games we will play and what to expect during the stream, below is a sample itinerary for the night (in a proposed but not specific order): Welcome and Chatting/Discussion General Trivia Fill in the Blank (Lyric Edition) Guess the Song Bonus Content *More trivia if desired How to prepare for Game Night: As mentioned, all members of The Community are welcome to join the stream to hang out, participate in the games, partake in the content, etc. Even if you are not interested in the the games or the source material, you are still welcome to join and chime in whenever you feel like it. You do not have to commit to the whole stream, an entire game, etc. to participate or enjoy the stream. Final Thoughts:      If you have any questions about or would like to make any requests for the Game Night Livestream, please don't hesitate to reach out to me or comment below.

Oh, Mommy Dear (It Must Be You) Nouveau Classic Original Song Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/U7E_KJ3NMdE Dear Mommy, It is hard to express in words just how much you mean to me. You have been a constant in my life, unchanging despite the storms that may come your way. Though our relationship has changed as I have gotten older, you have not. You are still there for me in every way: to help me, to celebrate with me, to nurture me, to provide wisdom, to love with grace… to give of yourself so selflessly. You have embodied motherhood in the purest way, and your children have been blessed because of this. I thank God every day for allowing you to be my mother… my mommy. When I was a little girl, I thought you made the stars shine. I thought you made the grass grow. I thought you had all of the answers. Now that I am grown, I don’t think so anymore… I know it for certain. Mommy dear, it is you who makes the world keep spinning around. For you, the birds keep singing aloud. You are life so full of love. Mommy dear, I love you so! ❤️ HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! ❤️ I wrote this song, "Oh, Mommy Dear", for my mom, but I'm sure I am not the only one who feels this way about their mom. I am honored to share it with you all, for all the mothers, on this blessed Mother's Day.

Hi friends! Here is the first part of my Easter Bonnet Build video series. Back in April, only 1 week before Easter and prompted by my desire to release a music video of "Easter Parade" (for which one must have an Easter Parade appropriate hat and of which I did not currently own in my hat collection), I decided to make myself an "Easter Bonnet" aka a fancy hat completely from scratch. This short video series documents the process of making said hat within just 6 days in order to have it ready in time for Easter and to shoot the music video. I wasn't sure it was possible, but one back-ache, several sore fingers, clothes covered in paste, and close to 16 hours of work later, and I had a completed hat that was exactly (or very close to) what I envisioned when I decided to start this project. It's not often that a project such as this hits so close to the original mark that I set (especially when I employ methods that I have never used before), so I'm a little proud that I was actually able to accomplish this. It's not perfect, but at least it looks like a hat! 🙃 I hope you enjoying following along with this adventure into creativity as I played around with wire, papier-maché, and lots of flowers to build this hat. Enjoy! Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-INGDQXRitw

Hi friends! How was your weekend? Things are busy, busy here, as usual. I have the first video of the 3-part "Easter hat" series coming out tomorrow, but until then, I want to let you know about some upcoming stuff and get your opinion on a couple of things. First on the agenda: This Saturday, May 13, DOUBLE TROUBLE X2 will be back at Tropical Winery in Lake Placid! We will be playing music from 2:30-5:30 pm. We hope to see you there! Second: Who's ready for another LIVESTREAM?! It's about time for our quarterly livestream, and I am so excited to hang out with you guys soon 🙂 Since everyone really seems to enjoy the trivia theme (especially music trivia) I am planning another Music Trivia Livestream for Saturday, May 20th. This stream will be a little different from the last one as all the music and trivia will be based on my ever-growing record collection. It should be very exciting! I will post more details about the livestream later, but I want to know what time will work best for everyone. If you are interested in joining the livestream, use the poll below to vote/select the time(s) that will work best for you. (The livestreams normally last for 2-3 hours or as long as people want to hang out, but the stream will be open and available to join at any point. You do not have to join from the beginning or stay to the end of the stream to join/participate.) Third: Summer is going to be here before we know it! I really enjoyed hosting Emily's Summer of Classic Films and Emily's Classic Christmas, but I want to know if you all enjoyed them. Would you like me to host Emily's Summer of Classic Films again? Or should we do something different? If you enjoy the series, I am considering trying to figure out a way for us to have a weekly movie night to actually watch a film "together" (as much as we can online). We could hang out afterwards and discuss the film. Would that interest you? I'd really love to know your thoughts so I can create the content that you all enjoy and love ❤️ That's all for now, my friends. As I said, the first video in my 3-part "Easter Hat" series will be coming out tomorrow, so stay tuned for that 🙂 I hope you all have a very wonderful week ❤️

Adventures in Record Collecting Dean Martin - I Take A Lot of Pride in What I Am Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/m0GT-kc1xKM *This video is exclusive to members of The Community. Please do not share outside this site. Hi friends!! Welcome to this new episode of Adventures in Record Collecting! This episode has been a long time coming, and I wasn't even sure I would be able to share it with you today due to computer troubles. I'm not sure why this video was giving me so much trouble. I don't know if the file had corruption or what specifically was going on, but my software kept crashing every 10 minutes trying to edit this video. So, this video does not have the usual flair and finished touch that I try so hard to give my videos (I wasn't even able to put the song titles up on the screen. I'm so sorry!), but at least I was able to get it up for you to watch. I hope the content and Dean's singing far exceeds any lack of editing or problems on the video itself. This video is also a bit different from other AiRC videos as this video features the ENTIRE album. I want you all to have the chance to experience (as closely as possible) listening to this album the way it was recorded and intended to be heard. That being said, if you want to skip around on the video, I have included chapter markers to the individual songs in the description of the video on YouTube. You can use the link at the top of this post to open the video on YouTube and access the chapter markers. If you recall my post after my birthday when I shared about the 13 records I got, this was the record that sparked that purchase. I fell in love with the album listening to it on Apple Music, and I was determined to own the record to be able to listen to it in all its glory... aka on my record player. The first time I played the record, I was in tears. It's just so beautiful! The video and my recording of my record player is not the same as hearing it in person, but I hope it still gives you a more realistic listening experience than the digital version would be. As I think I've mentioned before, this album is the best curated album I have ever heard. The arrangements of the songs remain individualized while still sounding cohesive across the album, the choice of songs and order on the album is so tasteful and well thought out, and the production of the album is one of the best of Dean Martin's records and arguably one of the best productions I have ever heard. The record was recorded and released in 1969 and was produced by Jimmy Bowen. Jimmy had been producing Dean's albums for many years, and, by this time, their collaboration and style was rock solid as is evidenced by this album. According to Jimmy Bowen's statement on the back of this album, Dean recorded this album in 2 1/2 hours with an audience of 300 people in the studio. After recording the final song on the album, "Little Green Apples," the entire studio (musicians and audience members) spontaneously broke out in applause. Their reaction (which can be heard on the recording) proves that this album is something so special. The record is in stereo. As you know, I am not a big fan of stereo, and that could explain why the balance seems a bit off at times. However, the other aspects of this album are just so good that the stereo does not affect my overall opinion of this album. The musical arrangements are by Glen Hardin and Jimmie Haskell. My particular record was released under the label RS 6338. I truly hope you enjoy listening to and experiencing this album! This album is very special to me, but perhaps I am a bit biased 🙂 So let me know what you think of it! I'd love to know your thoughts. ❤️ Enjoy!

Hi friends!! It's almost time for another afternoon of music and fun at Tropical Winery in Lake Placid! This Saturday, April 29, DOUBLE TROUBLE X2 (Featuring the Original DOUBLE TROUBLE and Sister Violins) will be playing music from 2:30pm to 5:30pm. We have some great songs to share with you, so we hope to see you there!!

Hi friends! How are you doing? I hope you've been doing well and have been having beautiful weather where you are. It's been very nice here. We've been enjoying watching the birds in our backyard lately. It's so nice to hear their singing filling the air again. It's been a very busy last couple of weeks... lots of doctor appointments, music rehearsals, and tedious work having to be done... lots of planning being done for much later this year. But... the last couple of weeks haven't been completely devoid of creativity. On the contrary, I have been writing some new music, working on projects, and I have some great ideas that I hope to fulfill in the next several months. Speaking of projects, I have a question for you. I am working on a full "Easter Bonnet" video (how I made the hat for my "Easter Parade" music video) for you all, but I was wondering if you would prefer a single, longer video or 2-3 shorter videos. Vote on the poll below or let me know if you have a preference in the comments. On the musical side of things, Ashley and I joined DOUBLE TROUBLE for a private party yesterday and had a lot of fun (despite a few sun showers). Here are a few pictures and video clips from the afternoon. Double Trouble x2 (featuring the original Double Trouble and Sister Violins) will be back at Tropical Winery next week!! More info to come soon 🙂 Thanks for your patience, my friends! Hopefully life will slow down enough over the next couple of weeks for me to be able to spend more time with you all. In the meantime, I should have a new AiRC video coming out next week, so stay tuned!

✝️ HAPPY EASTER ✝️ "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.'" John 11:25 I hope you all had a very blessed and joyous Easter! I am sorry I wasn't able to wish you all a Happy Easter yesterday, but it is never too late to praise God for for all He has done for us. We should be celebrating Easter every day! Through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection from the grave, we have the magnificent gift of eternal life! That is something that most definitely calls for a celebration and the utmost worship of our Savior. And a celebration (especially in reverence of our Lord) calls for only the best! So on with one's finest clothes and fanciest accessories, add a hat with all the frills upon it, and grab your proudest fellow (or your grandest lady)... it's time for an EASTER PARADE! At 12pm ET, I will be premiering my cover of Irving Berlin's hit song, "Easter Parade," on my YouTube channel. I had a lot of fun recording this song and making the video (including the HAT... more about that later 😉), and I hope you enjoy it! Happy Easter, and God bless you ❤️ Watch "Easter Parade" on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5jP_HZBOqfc * Click on the link above to turn on a reminder and receive a notification when the video is about to go LIVE. Or, you can save the link to tune in when the premiere starts. * The video will be available to watch directly on this post after the premiere.

Hi friends, and a very Happy Saturday to you! I had planned to share this video with you all yesterday, but alas, time (and internet) did not allow. But I think it is never too late or the wrong time to share this song. I was very honored to be asked to sing at my community's Holy Week service on Good Friday. I chose to sing this song that was written by Andraé Crouch, "I Find No Fault in Him." The song is deeply moving as it brings to mind images of what Jesus endured on the cross. Yet, He was without fault, perfect and sinless in every way. What a magnificent act of selflessness and love He displayed that day. He may have died a sinner's death on Good Friday, but He rose from the grave triumphantly... a KING and our GOD on Easter morning! We do not use our phones (so no photography or recording) during a worship service, but here is a video that was taken during our rehearsal. I hope it blesses you! I Find No Fault in Him Written by Andraé Crouch Performed by Emily E. Finke (acc. by Dr. Ashley Finke) Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/GInTKqFx54E *This video is exclusive to The Community. Please do not share outside of this site.

After years of trying to figure out where my music belongs in this industry, I figured it was time to make a place for myself that's genuinely ME! I am beyond excited to share with you all that I am coining a phrase, establishing my brand, creating a legacy... I have come up with my very own, brand new MUSIC GENRE... ✨ Nouveau Classic ✨ Now, this is not an easy task. There is no way (that I know of) to "officially" create a new music genre. All I can do is share it with the world and hope other people pick up on it and start using it. Eventually, hopefully, the music industry and companies such as Spotify and Apple will pick up on the term and incorporate it into their platforms. Until then, you will see the term plenty around here! 🙃 What do you think of the name? Do you think Nouveau Classic describes the sound/content of my music well? If you're interested, here are the definitions of both words individually: Nouveau: 1. New and different, often fashionably so. 2. Newly or recently created, developed, or come to prominence. Classic: 1. Judged over a period of time to be of the highest quality and outstanding of its kind. 2. Remarkably and instructively typical. If you'd like to hear what my definition of both words together as pertains to music is, check out the two YouTube shorts I posted to introduce this new music genre to the world: Part 1: https://youtube.com/shorts/RDkhJEDf-00?feature=share Part 2: https://youtube.com/shorts/rHxvIXj33Ac?feature=share

Adventures in Record Collecting Bing Crosby - Sing along! with Bing Crosby and His Friends Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/yPhRmsPx_CY *This video is exclusive to members of The Community. Please do not share outside this site. Welcome to this new episode of Adventures in Record Collecting! I hope you have fun singing along to this great, spiritual medley on this beautiful Sunday 🙂 The record featured in today's video is one that I got for my birthday last year. As the jacket states, "Bing Crosby and his friends whoop it up on 50 favorite tunes." All the tracks on this record are medleys of favorite, old songs designed for people to sing along with. The record itself was pressed in 1961, but I am not positive if the songs on the record were recorded in 1961 or not. The record is in stereo, which I'm not normally the biggest fan of, but this record sounds surprisingly good. The musical arrangements of the medleys are fun and keep up a good pace so as to not linger too long on any one song but also just long enough that you are able to enjoy it thoroughly before moving on to the next one. The recording itself is of very good quality and has all the Bing charm that everyone loves. If it was recorded in 1961, it still has an air of the 30s - 40s recordings which is what I love. This particular record is LSP-2460, but it also states on the back of the jacket that this record was released under both an LSP and an LPM code. The particular medley featured in this video is a medley of spiritual songs and includes "When the Saints Go Marching In," "Little David Play on Your Harp," "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho," "Hand Me Down My Walking Cane," and "Ezekiel Saw the Wheel." There are so many other amazing medleys on this album, so let me know if you'd like to hear any others in a future video. One of the many things I love about this record is how everyone, especially Bing, sounds like they are having so much fun! It really makes me smile and have fun along with them whenever I play this record. I hope you have enjoyed today's little episode of AiRC. As always, thanks for watching, friends, and I will be back soon with another episode of AiRC for you. Take care, and Happy Sunday ❤️

My favorite weekends are the weekends I get to make music with my friends ❤️ Come on out to Tropical Winery this Saturday to listen to the music of DOUBLE TROUBLE joined by Sister Violins (yours truly ☺️) as you sip some specialty wines and craft beers. It's going to be a fun time! See you there 🙂

music to smell the flowers by A Playlist by Emily E. Finke Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3HKgmvVb3EitJUOp1REzTg?si=66dcfe97faf44693 Listen on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/music-to-smell-the-flowers-by/pl.9662a884815f427ea15a6153ac45b6c8 Listen on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpkge2d6JryIi8qpN15vUN6FTHb0Sb4BL It's officially SPRING! I'm celebrating with a newly curated playlist called "music to smell the flowers by." Spring is a time when love blooms, new life is born, and dreams are made. It'll be Spring every day with this specially curated playlist of some of my favorite, old songs. It'll have you seeing visions of butterflies, flowers, and a world full of sunshine, life, love, and happiness. I hope you enjoy listening to my selection of music as you take time to enjoy all the beauty that God has given us in this season.

Hi friends! I hope your weekend has been a great one 🙂 Mine was quite eventful. As you know, I worked the 12 Hours of Sebring races the last few days. Over the course of just three days, I worked 31.5 hours at the raceway; edited, uploaded, and shared "Oh Danny Boy" for St. Patrick's Day; and joined my friends, Double Trouble, immediately after my shift at the raceway for a private gig. It's been a weekend for the books, for sure! It was very long, and I'm feeling pretty exhausted today but in a very fulfilled kind of way... I'm leaving this weekend behind taking some wonderful memories with me. I'm so grateful for the people I get to meet, the job opportunities I have, and the amazing friends who are like family to me. I'm ending this weekend feeling very blessed ❤️ I hope you enjoy scrolling through the pictures (and 1 video) from the last couple of days that are posted below!

Hi friends! It was a beautiful day here (despite being rather chilly this morning), and we had a fun first day with Cadillac at the 12 Hours of Sebring. It's great to be doing some BA work again especially with both my mom (@Amy Finke) and my sister (@Ashley Finke). Looking forward to another great day tomorrow! (If you'll be at the races tomorrow or Saturday, be sure to stop by the Cadillac display to say, "Hi!" 🙂)