The Captain is hugely honoured to be hosting one of America’s finest award-winning singer songwriters right here at his Kings Lynn HQ on Sunday 7th July. My dear chum, the simply superb Rachel Harrington is back here in Blighty. Much loved by audiences across the British Isles, Rachel is touring the UK before heading into the heart of the American West in late summer and onwards into Europe as the days grow short. A haunting storyteller with a compelling whisky and honey voice, she sings of broken souls, lost dreams, hard living and unexpectedly joyous dying, weaving a melancholy tapestry from the words of her grandfathers, years on the road, nights under restless skies and the mistakes and misfortunes of everyday hearts. Her yearning tales cut to the bone, straight from her rural roots, raw and absolutely true to her own experience, peppered with the humour that wards off despair when life’s ordinary hopes come tumbling down. Born to hard working stock, Danish dairymen and Irish lumberjacks, Rachel Harrington’s family has been in Oregon for six generations and a sense of place runs through her work, no doubt informing the songs for her new album Hush the Wild Horses which she’s almost finished. Huzzah! Growing up in a Pentecostal family, Rachel was raised on Gospel until an old cowboy called Dutch introduced her to the sound of Loretta Lynn, inspiring her own style of American gothic country stirred by careworn fireside soul. BBC’s legendary DJ Whispering Bob Harris proclaimed her first album The Bootlegger’s Daughter one of the best albums of 2007 and I must say I have a copy of everything she’s recorded. But to hear her live in an intimate setting really is quite something. Truly this wandering star of dark Americana is not to be missed. I do hope you can join us; all money raised on the evening will be donated to Make-A-Wish Foundation. Tickets are a veritable bargain at only £12 in advance, £15 on the door. Book here
