Kirsten Maxwell
Kirsten Maxwell is a New York raised, Nashville based singer, songwriter, and artist. She has toured extensively over the past 4 years, playing anywhere from small folk clubs to notable venues like NYC's Cutting Room and Nashville's Bluebird Cafe. Maxwell has also shared stages with such musical greats as Melissa Etheridge, Tanya Tucker, Karla Bonoff, and Paul Shaffer. In a review of her latest self titled EP, John Apice of No Depression writes, "Her voice alone wraps itself around your ears...this is an artist still in the making and not just a singer."
This marks Kirsten's third visit to Ethical Brew. (The first two sold-out!)
"I once saw Kirsten Maxwell take the stage in a raucous bar. The patrons were there to drink, not listen. She began a delicate ballad, and by the third line, she had them in the palm of her hand. Kirsten is a strikingly special performer."
Paul Shaffer
"She opens her mouth and birds fly out."
Vance Gilbert
"When Kirsten Maxwell first emerged several years ago, the folk world was captivated by her gorgeous voice and songwriting ability - and inevitably curious to see how this exciting young talent would develop. Kirsten's new EP offers some clues, as she spreads her wings to embrace not only folk, but Americana, pop, and indie influences. The journey has just begun!"
John Platt WFUV
Rachael Kilgour
Rachael Kilgour is a Minnesotan 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 and winner of the 2017 Kerrville New Folk Contest, Kilgour has been featured at NYC's Lincoln Center, at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and by the ASCAP Music Cafe at the Sundance Film Festival.
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, 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 and 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 end to her role as a member of the family she had helped to grow. In the aftermath, Kilgour found solace in songwriting. Her third full-length album, Rabbit in the Road (2017), was born out of that time.
Called "...a heartfelt slice of master crafted indie folk brimming with the battle-tested capacity to endure the worst in others" by Billboard, Rabbit in the Road took an intimate and often painful look at the failed marriage and loss of family. Kilgour's writing and delivery cut deep, with resolute simplicity. Ravelin Magazine observed "this sort of metonymic ability to evoke the whole of someone or the entirety of a feeling is typical of Kilgour's poetic songwriting."
In February of 2019, Kilgour follows up with the release of her new EP, Game Changer. The aptly titled work examines the artist's tentative first steps into a new world, post-heartbreak. With a clear head, Kilgour touches on the complicated nature of romance and relationship, sets up a stunning defense of queer love, and reassesses her priorities as a citizen of a changing wider world.
Recorded in Asheville, NC at Echo Mountain Studios and produced by Gar Ragland, the EP will be released on NewSong Recordings and features string arrangements by violinist/composer Sara Pajunen.
Here's what music insiders are saying about Rachel Kilgour...
"...a heartfelt slice of master-crafted indie folk brimming with the battle-tested capacity to endure the worst in others."
-- Chris Payne, Billboard
