January 17th, 2017
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 Sundance 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:
“I know you can take it
I believe that you will make it
On your own somehow
Maybe not right now
But I can see you’re almost ready
Do you think you’re ready Freddie?
Say it right out loud
You’re gonna make me proud”
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 produced by Catie Curtis and Gar Ragland with help from 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.
Publicist: Amanda Dissinger, Terrorbird
Radio: Shannon Kurlander, Terrorbird
Licensing: Scott Cresto, Music Alternatives
Rachael Kilgour Sites:
