Emily Watkins ’05 Pursues ‘Secret’ Vocation

Emily Watkins ’05 had a secret.  During her four years at Valpo, no one knew she was classically trained in both piano and violin.  She didn’t play with the University Symphony or sing in a choir.  In fact, she majored in English rather than music.

But the cat’s out of the bag now.  Watkins is part of the eight-member independent folk/rock/chamber pop group Margot and the Nuclear So & So’s, criss-crossing the country in support of the band’s celebrated inaugural CD (“The Dust of Retreat”), and getting ready to go back into the recording studio this fall.

The MTV channels have interviewed Margot for the "You Heard It First" segment and featured them frequently; XM Satellite radio nominated the band as one of the top three unsigned artists of 2005, and Margot has been featured at the South By Southwest Music Festival, The South Park Film Festival and The Sundance Film Festival.

What happened to the English major?  “The band happened,” Watkins says with a laugh.  Watkins focused on English at Valpo because of her passion for reading and writing.  “I loved literature, and still do.  And I couldn’t imagine making a living playing music, so English seemed like a logical path.”

Rather remarkably, Margot and the Nuclear So & So’s is Watkins’ first band experience.  She sings vocals and plays keyboard and occasionally picks up an accordion for the group.  “I thought playing in a band would be cool, but I’ve always been a classical musician so I didn’t see how it would happen,” Watkins says.  Now Watkins can’t quite see how she’ll get back to her English major any time in the near future.