Em Kirby grew up in Daphne and found a passion for music at a young age. Now, 19 and a freshman at University of Alabama Huntsville, she has recorded a full-length album called "Alphabet Soup." She will be performing a one-woman show at The Peoples Room of Mobile March 19 to showcase her newest music.

At a young age, Kirby began taking piano lessons and was in the school choir at various points, but it was the guitar class she took her freshman year at Daphne High School that set her on the path to find her passion. She learned how to write music and taught herself how to play the ukulele while learning the guitar.

"I discovered songwriting was a good outlet for my emotions. I have always loved writing but putting words to music felt like a whole new ballgame. I figured out it was my favorite thing to do very quickly," Kirby said.

She continued to hone her skills and stockpile original music throughout her time at the Alabama School of Math and Science. Kirby also began to perform publicly at Mobile's Art Walk. She befriended a gallery owner who allowed her to play for tips and eventually hired her to perform at the gallery.

In April 2020, Kirby recorded her first album called "Unoriginal" which featured nine songs. Then in May 2021, Kirby took the stage at The Peoples Room of Mobile Listening Room to perform a 90-minute show featuring 26 original songs.

"The great thing about The Peoples Room venue is it intended for artists to showcase their original songs and share the stories behind them in a cozy setting," Kirby said.

After her first performance, Kirby continued to work on new material with the goal of recording a full-length album. She also worked on how to finance the project. Kirby worked full time last summer at the YMCA in Daphne as a camp counselor and saved financial gifts from her grandparents to pay for studio time at Dauphin Street Sound in Mobile.

"I have been working on recording "Alphabet Soup" since 2021. It took about a year to record the 31 tracks. A lot of them are very short but the album is standard length," Kirby said. "Recording was such a fun experience and I worked with the same recording engineer throughout the whole project. Ryan Avinger recorded, mixed and mastered the whole thing and working alongside him was a great experience because we are both very efficient."

So efficient in fact that Kirby set a studio record for the most tracks recorded and finished in a single session. She laughed while mentioning it saying it feels silly to say because she hates bragging but with the pedigree of artists that have recorded there it is a unique accomplishment.

Kirby describes her sound as a stripped back acoustic sound that is very folk pop in nature. Many of her songs are just her and the guitar or ukulele but she pushed herself to expand to different instruments.

"I found out that collaborating can be just as fun as something on your own. On five tracks, I invited my talented friend Joseph Guarisco to play the violin. Now I can't imagine those songs without the violin parts because it elevates all of them. I have a very DIY perspective and letting myself ask for help was a good learning lesson," Kirby said.

Her long-term goal is to make a living writing and performing music, but she said she isn't sure that is possible.

"I think the great thing about music is that no matter what I end up doing for a career, I will always be able to keep writing music. It is so essential to who I am," Kirby said.

Kirby's album "Alphabet Soup" is available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music and other platforms. Catch her one-woman show at The Peoples Room in Mobile March 19 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the door or online at the peoplesroommobile.com.