Event
Rachel Harrington & RIta Hosking
Reared among the Pentecostal pines of Oregon, Rachel Harrington has been doing things in the wrong order for quite some time. She'd had extensive radio play before performing her live show, and she was opening for Grammy winners and nominees before releasing her first record.
Rachel's critically acclaimed 2007 debut, The Bootlegger's Daughter, (featuring guest musicians John Reischman and Danny Barnes) went to #1 on the Euro-Americana Chart and landed the Seattle siren smack in the center of the UK Americana scene when legendary BBC DJ Bob Harris proclaimed Bootlegger's Daughter one of the best albums of the year. The following year of aggressive touring saw Harrington playing festivals in a dozen countries with some of the top names in bluegrass and country music.
Rachel's 2008 follow-up record, City of Refuge, features several guests including Tim O'Brien and Pieta Brown. City of Refuge garnered further acclaim, reaching millions of listeners when Starbucks requested three of the cds 10 tracks for in-store play throughout the US, supported by national US distribution from Burnside.
After three straight months of touring internationally during the summer of 2009, which included headline spots the Glasgow Americana Festival (Scotland) and the Maverick Festival (England), Rachel is being touted as the hardest working woman in Americana. 2010 sees Rachel headlining the UK's largest festival, Celtic Connections, and showcasing at the prestigious International Folk Alliance Conference.
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Kitchen tables, springs, loss, miners, mountains, culture clash, trailers, stray dogs, loggers, hope, forest fires--Rita Hosking's country-folk music is this and more, and always fierce and lovely. Her delivery is, to put it simply, intense. "From the first time I heard Rita sing, her voice gripped me and did not let go," (Joe Craven.)
That voice, called a "soulful howl from the mountains" (California Bluegrass Association) is calling attention around the country--"What? California girls don't sing like that!!?" But Rita, called "the real thing" by CA acoustic music fans, will tell you about her upbringing in rural Shasta County, and the old-time band of seasoned mountain characters that took her under their wings. "This California girl comes by her mountain-music sensibility with true authenticity, with original songs deeply rooted in her family's frontier experience," (Dan Ruby, FestivalPreview.com.) A descendant of Cornish miners who sang in the mines, Rita grew up with deep regard for folk music and the power of the voice.
Rita's songs have been lauded for story and sense of place, and her performances praised for capturing the audience. Honors include winner of the '08 Dave Carter Memorial Songwriting Contest at the Sisters Folk Festival, finalist for the '09 Telluride Troubadour Contest, and others as well. She has played her songs for appreciative listeners at the Strawberry Music Festival, Kate Wolf Music Festival, and many more. Rita points out that she likes to "get to the heart of the matter." As with a mystic, this means a loaded and stunning, yet gentle and compassionate delivery. As Craven adds, "Rita's messages are immediate yet patient and her quiet conviction most strong."
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LocationEmpty Sea Studios
6300 Phinney Ave N
Seattle, WA 98103
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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