The Return of Rachel Harrington

Rachel Harrington
Old Cinema Launderette
2.11.2018

Following a (longer than anticipated) spell away from creating music, Rachel Harrington is back!

More than six years have passed since that most memorable of Yarm nights, when Rachel and I collaborated on a project to bring a wonderful show to Teesside. Rachel has now returned to writing and performing music and has been playing select UK dates this autumn.

For me, the opportunity to see Rachel again presented itself at one of the most unusual of all music venues - Durham's Old Cinema Launderette.

I had heard of the impressive series of events put on by MrWishyWashy but had never before been to this most intimate of venues. There is room for the performer and two rows of chairs in front of the bank of washing machines - but little else! An extraordinary venue - and it works perfectly, even though our taxi driver took several attempts to deliver us there.

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There was no support act and Rachel - completely solo, for the first time - preferred to play an extended set rather than take a mid-evening break, but stressed to the audience that convenience breaks were very much allowed.

Six years of waiting fell away once Rachel appeared - looking relaxed and fabulous - to present a showcase of some of her own finest songs together with a couple of covers thrown in for good measure. It all added up to an excellent evening of folk, Americana, country, blues and gospel.

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We had Sunshine Girl at the start and plenty of other favourites along the way, including Little Pink, You'll Do, Spokane, Under the Big Top, Up the River, He Started Building My Mansion in Heaven Today and then two big audience participation numbers to bring the wonderful evening to a close: I Don't Want to Get Adjusted to This World and then a sensational rendition of Ode to Billie Joe.

Playing intimate venues completely solo can be difficult. There is no escape, no one to fall back on and no way to avoid the staring eyes. It must be a daunting prospect at times but Rachel took all of the potential challenges in he magnificent stride, engaging with everyone via not only the music but also through the stories behind them. There were other anecdotes too, such as the time she met Willie Nelson. Oh yes, and the secret to success is - apparently - tassels.

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We could all do with more good news and the return of the Sunshine Girl is a big step in the right direction. Thank you for coming back to the North East, Rachel! Hopefully we can meet again next July.

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More good news: Rachel is working on two new albums.

The first, I Wish I Was in Austin, is an album of covers and should be out very soon.

An album of new songs, Hush the Wild Horses, will be out in 2019. Head for this page for further information and the opportunity to become a part of the project.

Rachel's website can be found here.

Keep up to date with MrWishyWashy's forthcoming gigs here.

To assist further reading, here is the Marsh Towers index for our interviews, reviews and other matters regarding Rachel Harrington.

Maverick

Interview Part 1

Interview Part 2

Interview Part 3

Discography Part 1

Discography Part 2

Discography Part 3

Rachel Harrington and The Knock Outs CD

Celilo Falls Interview

Gig Review: Cleveland Bay Part 1

Gig Review: Cleveland Bay Part 2

Gig Review: Cleveland Bay Part 3

Gig Review: The Studio, Hartlepool 2010

Gig Review: Sage Americana Festival 2010

Pitch In (1)

Pitch In (2)