Event
Songwriting Workshop with Rachael Kilgour
Join us for our April songwriting workshop led by award-winning songwriting Rachael Kilgour. We will be discussing vulnerability and how songwriting can help aid in the healing process.
Doors at 6:30, workshop from 7-10
All levels of musical talent and ability welcome.
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 esteemed international NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition, Kilgour has been featured at NYCs Lincoln Center and by the ASCAP Music Cafe 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.
Married in her early twenties, Kilgour devoted her young adulthood to parenting her stepchild and building family and community. Her work from that time (Self-Titled 2008, Will You Marry Me? 2011, Whistleblowers Manifesto 2013) chronicled her life as a young parent in a same-sex partnership and addressed sociopolitical issues from government corruption to income inequality and religious hypocrisy. Kilgours music career took a backseat during those years as she lived a slow, home-focused life.
In 2014, divorce brought an unwanted end to her role as a member of the family she had helped to grow. In the months following, Kilgour found solace in songwriting. 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 Kilgours emotional journey. I was taught from a young age that a persons 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 her unconditional love and 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 youre almost ready
Do you think youre ready Freddie?
Say it right out loud
Youre gonna make me proud
Finally, in the title track, Kilgour examines the dualities of forgiveness. As is true of the album in its entirety, the detailed examination of Kilgours relationships and emotions is surprisingly universal:
With your hands around his neck
You spared his misery
How swift you gave that rabbit
What you couldnt give to me
Rabbit in the Road, is due out March 3rd, 2017 on NewSong Recordings. It was produced by Catie Curtis with help from sound engineer, Crit Harmon and 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. Kilgours 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.
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LocationBella Luna Studios at the Wolf House MPLS (View)
3359 Tyler Street NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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