Billboard premieres heartwrenching single ‘Deep Bruises’ from Rachael Kilgour’s forthcoming album Rabbit in the Road
“[the track is] a heartfelt slice of master crafted indie folk brimming with the battle-tested capacity to endure the worst in others.” – Billboard
ANNOUNCES UPCOMING WINTER & SPRING TOUR DATES
RABBIT IN THE ROAD OUT 3/3/2017 VIA NEWSONG RECORDINGS
AUDIO: “Deep Bruises”/Soundcloud + Billboard (available for posting)
Rachael Kilgour is a Minnesota-based songwriter and performing artist whose sincere, lyric-driven work has been called both brave and humane. The 2015 grand prize winner of the international NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition, Kilgour has been featured at NYC’s Lincoln Center and by the ASCAP Music Café at the Sundance Film Festival. She was also a finalist in the 2015 Telluride Troubadour Contest. A versatile performer, Kilgour has shared stages with the likes of indie artists Haley Bonar & Jeremy Messersmith as well as folk legends Greg Brown, Cheryl Wheeler & Catie Curtis.
Kilgour married in her early twenties and devoted the rest of the decade to parenting her stepchild and building family and community. Her work from that time (Self-Titled 2008, Will You Marry Me? 2011, Whistleblower’s Manifesto 2013) chronicled her life as a young parent in a same-sex partnership and addressed sociopolitical issues from government corruption to income inequality to religious hypocrisy. Kilgour’s music career took a backseat during those years as she lived a slow, home-focused life.
In 2014, divorce brought an unwanted and excruciating end to her role as a member of her family. The sudden shift left her deep in grief. Kilgour spent many months processing with friends, family, and therapists and found solace in songwriting. Kilgour’s forthcoming album, Rabbit in the Road, was born out of that time: the love, loss, betrayal, disorientation and the profound sense of resilience that followed.
“While I have always felt a strong pull to address social injustices from the stage, this new collection of work requires something new of me,” Kilgour shared. “I feel called to use my platform to address emotion and grief and forgiveness in a way that is not often done in our culture.”
Though the album was instigated by a particular event in her life, each track explores a different aspect of Kilgour’s emotional journey. “I was taught from a young age that a person’s hurtful behavior is almost always a sign of inner pain and not a reflection of your self-worth. The second track on the album, ‘Deep Bruises’, was my attempt to put that belief into practice under the most difficult circumstances.”
Later, in “Ready Freddie”, Kilgour professes an unyielding confidence in her step-daughter as she steps into adolescence. In the title track, Kilgour examines the dualities of forgiveness. As is true of the album in its entirety, the detailed examination of Kilgour’s relationships and emotions is surprisingly universal:
“With your hands around his neck, You spared his misery, How swift you gave that rabbit, What you couldn’t give to me”
Rabbit in the Road, due out March 3rd, 2017 on NewSong Recordings, was co-produced by Catie Curtis, Gar Ragland and Crit Harmon, who engineered the album. The album was mixed by Gar Ragland at Echo Mountain Recording Studios in Asheville, NC. The album takes an intimate and often painful look at the failed marriage and loss of family. Kilgour’s writing and delivery cut deep, with resolute simplicity. Sorrow, rage, resilience and compassion exist side by side within a series of honest and memorable melodies. The collection of work stands tall on a foundation of vulnerability and opens the door to moments of profound connection.
Today, the heartwrenching first track from the record, “Deep Bruises,” has premiered at Billboard, who say, “[the track is ] a heartfelt slice of master crafted indie folk brimming with the battle-tested capacity to endure the worst in others.. When Kilgour sings ‘No one’s predictable as you,’ there’s a steadfast confidence to her voice, which lingers around the guitar and keystrokes like smoke above a dying fire. There’s hints of Stevie Nicks and Neko Case in her pensive, almost rustic vocals, which do great justice to the song’s solemn mood.”
Rabbit in the Road is set for release 3/3/17 via NewSong Recordings, preorder available here.
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Upcoming Rachael Kilgour dates:
2/4 @ Eat My Words Bookstore, Minneapolis, MN
2/10 @ House Concert, Hibbing, MN
2/11 @ Prairie Wind, Windom, MN
2/17 @ House Concert, Eagan, MN
2/18 @ House Concert, Minneapolis, MN
2/24 @ Uncommon Ground, Chicago, Ill.
2/25 @ The Broad Museum, Lansing, MI
2/25 @ The Pumphouse, Lansing, MI
3/3 @ The Park Theater, Hayward, WI.
3/4 @ Crescendo Madison, WI. with Josh Harty
3/11 @ House Concert, Cedar Rapids, IA
3/12 @ Des Moines Social Club, Des Monies, IA
3/22 @ Glensheen Mansion Unplugged Series, Duluth, MN
3/23 @ Root Note, La Crosse, WI
4/1 @ Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis, MN with Lucy Kaplansky
4/23 @ Jubilee House Concert, Duluth, MN
May 6 @ Circle of Friends Coffee House, Franklin, MA. with Catie Curtis
May 11 @ Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, VT.
May 18 @ One Longfellow Square, Portland, ME w/ Connor Garvey and Caroline Spence
May 20 @ Burghsong Concert Series, Pittsburgh, PA
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Rachael Kilgour
Rabbit in the Road
Out 3/3/2017 via NewSong Recordings
Tracklisting:
You’re Through
Deep Bruises
Ready Freddie
Up From Down
Still My Wife
Don’t Need Anyone
Rabbit in the Road
Mama
Hit by a Bus
I Pray
Break Wide Open
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Terrorbird Media
Publicist: Amanda Dissinger, Terrorbird
Radio: Shannon Kurlander, Terrorbird
Licensing: Scott Cresto, Music Alternatives
