The Journey
A new take on an old story has found its way to the LDS music genre in the form of two performers who also happen to be descendants of Joseph and Emma Smith. The Smith family is comprised of Kimberly Jo Smith, and her son Bryan Davis. Their first CD, The Journey, was released November 2011.
A native of Tennessee, convert to the LDS Church and great-great-granddaughter of Joseph and Emma Smith, Kimberly has embraced a unique sound drawing from her Appalachian roots to express the lives of her ancestors. Essentially, The Journey is the love story of Joseph and Emma. Reaching beyond the mainstream LDS sound this music is unique in its delivery as finely blended harmonies fill the senses producing an effect that is both stirring and poignant.
With four generations of music impacting the Smith family, and Dolly Parton as a double cousin on her mother’s side, Kimberly’s life has been steeped in the traditional sounds of the mountains. “As a performer I want the audience to be able to feel the history of those mountains and the people who carved their lives out in them. It is my hope that they leave with a smile and a desire to know more about their own heritage.”
Kimberly and Bryan are ambassadors for the Joseph Smith Jr. and Emma Hale Smith Historical Society. Bryan develops music in the video game industry and also runs a photography business with his mother. Kimberly is an author of historical fiction, poetry, music, and non-fiction. But for both mother and son, music is an integral part of their lives, a driving force which inspires them to write and sing.
“Music is that fine mist which settles into the crevices where nothing else can reach.” Kimberly once said, “And it is that very knowledge that moves me to sing whenever and wherever I can.”