December 29th, 2015
This series of features highlights the 2015 NewSong Music finalists. Each artist is invited to 14th Annual NewSong Music Showcase & Competition Finals – Lincoln Center (Jan 7th) for the opportunity to win the #NSM Grand Prize. We sat down with each finalist to learn more about their music and background. Hope you enjoy! #NewSongMusic #WhereGreatArtistsAreDiscovered
BIO
Based out of Duluth, MN, singer-songwriter Rachael Kilgour has built a devoted following over the last ten years, captivating audiences with a balance of provocative, topical lyrics, passionate musical delivery, and a charmingly witty stage presence. Kilgour began writing and performing her own songs in 2005. She was invited to join recording artist Catie Curtis on a tour of the Midwest as an opener and backup musician in 2006 and again the following year. Her original music was received well enough that she decided to break from the pursuit of a Music Education degree in order to focus on a career as a performer.
In 2007, Kilgour married and enthusiastically took on the role of step-parent to her wife’s young daughter. She released her long-awaited debut album in December 2008 and a second release, “Will You Marry Me?” in January 2011. Both albums give an earnest glimpse into the life and politics of a young woman turned wife, mother and advocate for a generation of dissatisfied global citizens. In February 2013, Kilgour released “Whistleblower’s Manifesto,” a three-song EP that focuses on issues of social injustice and showcases her innate ability to challenge and inspire listeners.
Kilgour has performed across the country in coffeehouses, concert series and radio studios as well as protests and picket lines and has shared the stage with such folk luminaries as Greg Brown and Cheryl Wheeler. In 2015 Kilgour took fifth place in the Telluride Troubadour Competition and was named the winner of the LEAF Newsong Contest in North Carolina. Following her 2014 divorce, Kilgour has written a collection of new, powerfully intimate material. She plans to release a full-length, studio album of the work in the spring of 2016. The album is being produced by Catie Curtis.
Q:What does it mean to you to be selected as a NewSong finalist, and what do you hope to get out of the experience?
A: I was thrilled! As an artist, it’s always heartening to hear that your work resonates with people. It is an honor to be given the opportunity to perform in such a beautiful space alongside such talented artists.
I am most looking forward to meeting the other finalists! I love coming together with folks who live the same kind of life, share the same kind of passion and yet express it in such individualistic ways. I am also looking forward to meeting the judges and the rest of the Newsong team! I am excited to challenge myself to perform to the best of my ability at the showcase and I hope to connect with some new listeners as a result of this experience.
Q: What is your songwriting process?
A: I don’t exactly have a process. It’s taken me some time to settle into a trusting kind of relationship with my writing. I don’t practice, I don’t force myself to write when I don’t have something to say, I don’t panic when I have dry spells or if I get stuck writing about one topic excessively. Songs seem to come to me like little gifts, I just need to make time to receive them. For me, songs are almost always born out of a repetitive thought. Sometimes it is a problem or injustice I am trying to resolve – either on a personal level or a world-wide one. Sometimes it is an intense emotion (eg: love for a child) that I am trying to communicate. I think we all write with the hope of being understood, whatever the topic. Songwriting allows me to sort the mess inside my head, but the magic lives in the sharing of the complete work. That moment of mutual understanding between the performer and listener is something I live for.
Q: What is currently happening with your music?
A: I am currently working on a new album – produced by Catie Curtis and recorded in the Boston area by Crit Harmon. I am very excited to release it, hopefully in the early spring! The album consists of the work I’ve written in the last year and a half since my divorce – it is raw and emotional and people have been connecting with it in a big way since I began sharing the tunes on stage. I’m very proud of the work we are doing in the studio and can’t wait to share it!
