Emily Marcia Armstrong (born May 6, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. The co-founder of Dead Sara, it was announced that she had joined Linkin Park as co-lead vocalist in September 2024. The band had been largely inactive since the death of vocalist Chester Bennington in 2017.
EARLY LIFE
Armstrong was born and raised in Los Angeles. She started to write songs and play guitar when she was 11 and began to sing when she was 15. She dropped out of high school; she knew she wanted to be in a rock band when she picked up the guitar and had no interest in pursuing anything else. In an interview with the El Paso Times in 2012, Armstrong said music was the one thing that kept her motivated in life.
CAREER
Dead Sara
In 2002, Armstrong began playing with guitarist Siouxsie Medley, who she met through a mutual friend. They had similar taste in music; both Medley and Armstrong were influenced by Nirvana and L7, among others, and 1960s and 1970s folk and blues artists and classic rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Stevie Nicks, Joni Mitchell, and Fleetwood Mac. As a songwriter, Armstrong was significantly influenced by folk rock. Her interest in open and alternate tunings, such as those used by Mitchell, resulted in what Guitar World referred to as Dead Sara's signature sound. As a performer, she was influenced by artists including Iggy Pop and Janis Joplin.
Initially known as Epiphany, Dead Sara's first gig was at the Los Angeles nightclub The Mint in March 2005. In addition to singing, Armstrong played the bass. They toured for the first time in 2007, and in 2010 founded their indie label, Pocket Kid Records, releasing their full-length debut, Dead Sara, on the label in 2012. The first single from the album, "Weatherman", was an indie rock hit. Following the album's release, in addition to playing support slots in the US and Europe for artists including Muse, Dead Sara were featured on the Warped Tour.
Dead Sara's second album, Pleasure to Meet You, and a 4-song EP, Covers, also came out on Pocket Kid. Covers included two versions of Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box", Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name", and Patti Smith's "Ask the Angels". In 2018, the EP Temporary Things Taking Up Space was released on Atlantic. They recorded their third album, Ain't It Tragic, during the COVID-19 lockdown. It was released on Warner Records in 2021.
Linkin Park
On September 5, 2024, it was revealed that Armstrong had joined Linkin Park as co-lead vocalist, debuting with the band at a live-streamed event on the same day. The live stream included a performance of "The Emptiness Machine", the lead single of the group's forthcoming album From Zero, which will be released on November 15, 2024.Linkin Park will embark on a six-date arena tour across four continents, beginning on September 11 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood and concluding at the Coliseo Medplus in Bogotá on November 11.
Other recorded and live appearances
Armstrong received significant attention as a singer even before Dead Sara's debut was released. Noting her "strong, urgent sound", Grace Slick said Armstrong was a singer she admired in an interview with the Wall Street Journal in 2011, and Courtney Love brought Armstrong to New York to sing on Hole's 2010 album, Nobody's Daughter. She has recorded and/or performed live with artists including the Offspring, Beck, Demi Lovato, Awolnation, and Robby Krieger of the Doors.
CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY AND DANNY MASTERSON
In 2013, Armstrong was photographed attending the 44th Anniversary Gala of the Church of Scientology's Celebrity Centre International and, in a press release following the event, the Church identified her as one of several "prominent members."
Shortly after Armstrong joined Linkin Park on September 5, 2024, she was the subject of media reports about her ties to the controversial Church and her purported attendance in support of former actor and convicted rapist Danny Masterson, a longtime Scientologist, at a 2023 criminal hearing. Some of the band's fans were also critical of her affiliation with the Church.
Reports noted that one of Masterson's alleged victims, Chrissie Carnell Bixler, and her spouse, The Mars Volta singer and former Scientologist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, were publicly critical of Armstrong's decision to attend a hearing during Masterson's trial.
Following the reports, Armstrong clarified on September 6 that, while she attended one court appearance where she was asked to support Masterson, she later realized she should not have done so. "Several years ago, I was asked to support someone I considered a friend at a court appearance, and went to one early hearing as an observer," she wrote in an Instagram story.[26] "Soon after, I realized I shouldn’t have. I always try to see the good in people, and I misjudged him. I have never spoken with him since. Unimaginable details emerged, and he was later found guilty. To say it as clearly as possible: I do not condone abuse or violence against women, and I empathize with the victims of these crimes."
DISCOGRAPHY
Dead Sara
The Airport Sessions (2008)
Dead Sara (2012)
Pleasure to Meet You (2015)
The Covers (2017)
Ain't It Tragic (2021)
Linkin Park
From Zero (2024)