More People Should Really Know About: Rachel Harrington

When this feature first appeared in these hallowed pages, it aimed to allow us writers the opportunity to advocate for an artist who we felt deserved to be more widely recognised, the only caveat being that they should be a current working artist and a recognised name within the americana community. As the last two years have proven, the interpretation of this direction has provided an interesting and extremely varied selection of artists, from the established names with careers that span many decades to those still in the relative infancy of their musical journey.

For my fourth offering to this feature, I’ve chosen to focus on a singer-songwriter whose work some of you, I’m sure, will be familiar with, though to be fair, it is a few years since any of us heard anything new, reasons of which will become clearer later in the article, along with some exciting news.

Rachel Harrington was raised among the Pentecostal pines of Oregon and, by her own admission, has been doing things in the wrong order most of her life. She received her first radio play before performing her first gig, and opened for Grammy winners before releasing her debut album, by which time she was already 37 years old. That’s not to suggest that Harrington found her musical calling late in life; on the contrary, having taught herself to play guitar at the age of twelve after staying with family in Montana she eventually dropped out of high school, joined a band from Houston, and spent much of her formative years touring around Texas, during which time she gave birth to her only child, Mandolin Lennon Hooper.

Her debut album, “The Bootlegger’s Daughter,” first saw the light of day in 2007 and immediately garnered enthusiastic plaudits from all corners of the musical media, with legendary BBC Radio DJ Bob Harris eulogising “An absolutely brilliant album” and going on to say later “I’ve been getting tremendous listener response”, stating that the album “is already a contender for album of the year in my opinion”. Harris wasn’t the only one to be immediately transfixed by Harrington’s 10-song debut; many compared her favourably to such established icons of americana as Nanci Griffith, Gillian Welch, and Emmylou Harris. Further praise for the album came from Smart Choice Music (UK) who marveled at Harrington’s “evocative vocals and gifted songwriting”, later claiming her “lyrics are literate and heartbreaking in equal measure”, while The Irish Times acknowledged the album as “one of the more impressive albums of 2007, and certainly among the best debuts”, In truth there’s not a week song on this, surely one of the best debut albums within the americana genre, with even Mojo magazine awarding it four stars.

Following on from the release of her debut album, Harrington embarked on an aggressive touring schedule, particularly across the UK and Europe, where her repertoire of freshly arranged traditional tunes that harked back to a bygone age, along with her compelling compositions of soulful folk music, captivated the hearts of all who fell under her spell.

2008 saw the release of her sophomore album, “City Of Refuge“, which again garnered unanimous praise, featuring special guest collaborations with luminaries such as Tim O’Brien and Pieta Brown. Lonesome Highway described the album as “the kind of place, as displayed here, where many would like to spend some time getting acquainted with the residents”, while performing songwriter, Mare Wakefield, in praising Harrington’s arrangements of the traditional tracks, insisted “But it’s Harrington’s own songs that will steal your heart (and) send chills down your spine”. Neither was Maverick Magazine slow to heap praise, claiming “On this album she’s penned some enthralling stories…subtly adorned in old-timey acoustic arrangements”, while The Irish Times followed up the plaudits they heaped on Harrington’s debut release by stating “”City Of Refuge’ moves the Oregon-bred singer-songwriter to a new level”. On allocating the album 4 stars, Q magazine enthused glowingly of the “Scary bluegrass…Gothic tracks on an inspiringly original album”, while in these very pages we described the music as “Connecting with the ghosts of americana folk music”.

Now, with all this praise for the first two albums, you’d be forgiven for thinking that, even allowing for americana music’s low exposure across mainstream media, some sort of chart success must have been achieved. Of course, you couldn’t have been further from the truth. However, her growing reputation did result in getting signed by a record label and booking agent, though it did mean shelling out 65% of what were already slim wages. To “increase her value”, Harrington was advised by her consultants to tour overseas less, and reluctantly accepted their reasoning, despite that, up to now, the UK had been her bread and butter, meaning a significant reduction in her income. The following year saw Harrington’s musical career stall to such an extent that she had to start cleaning toilets and doing housecleaning on the side, and it would be close to three years after the release of “City Of Refuge” before her third album was released.

“Celilo Falls” finally saw the light of day in 2011, garnering 4-star reviews in major music publications worldwide. Among the many plaudits, Neon Filler (UK) were blown away by “some of the years most heart-warming tracks with its timeless, traditional take on American folk. An inspiring album indeed”, while Mojo, in awarding the album 4 stars, marvelled at “songs that conjure the ghosts of old America”. Once again The Irish Times was full of praise, placing “Celilo Falls” in their “Top 10 Albums of the Year List”, and Q magazine awarded 4 stars while waxing lyrically, in particular about the album track ‘Bury Me Close’, describing it as “Ancient-sounding country noir….Harrington is all about what’s left off her songs, and the skeletal arrangements leave the listener to fill in the unspoken terrors and tenderness that lie beneath”. Flyin Shoes stated that “Celilo Falls will find its place among the best material out there”, while AUK cemented these plaudits by describing the album as a “winning formula… the American folk of pre-electric country….an accomplished and engaging musician and singer… ..Harrington’s honest unaffected voice injects the essential leavening of ‘truth’ into her songs”. To sum the album up ‘~CTRL. ALT. COUNTRY‘ succinctly stated “(These 13 tracks) score Harrington thirteen homeruns…a CD that stands beside the best of Gillian Welch, Patty Griffin and Lucinda Williamson”,

2012 saw a quick follow-up with Harrington’s fourth studio album “Makin’ Our House A Honkytonk,” proving to be a raucous departure from previous releases with an all-girl honkyband, The Knockouts. Depite the change the plaudits kept on coming with Q magazine one of the first out of the blocks claiming “Harrington makes Neko Case sound like Olivia Newton John”, while closer to home Seattle Weekly were equally smitten stating that “stellar track ‘Wedding Ring Vacation’ will certainly rank as one of the years best”. However, the highest acclaim probably came from Roots Music Report, which simply announced “#1 True Country Album of the Year”.

Around this time, retired barrister from the UK Nick Lawson started to take on the responsibility for tour driving and merch duties whenever Harrington returned to these shores. Lawson had originally connected with Harrington during her second tour of the UK, having discovered her music after a long stay in hospital recovering from a heart condition that left him with a pacemaker and fairly significant existential depression. He said her music lifted him up and gave him a reason to live. Their friendship would endure for the remainder of Lawson’s life, during which time he would travel to the States in 2014 to attend the CD launch show for Harrington’s son, Mandolin Hooper, and his band The Shadowland Rats. The following year, he and Harrington would embark on a mammoth tour of the American West. It would also fall on Lawson to talk Harrington out of semi-retirement, volunteering to be her driver/manager for a UK tour in 2017, and then again the following year.

Finally, after a seven-year hiatus, Harrington released her fifth studio album, “Hush The Wild Horses,” proving that despite the lengthy absence, her songwriting was still of the highest quality, a view shared across all the music media. Maverick (UK) simply stated “Back with one hell of a bang”, while Northern Sky (UK) wrote “Eleven remarkable songs…an album that really tugs on the heartstrings”. Songlines were equally euphoric in their praise: “Intimate…unflinching…lyrically wrenching…musically compelling…Hush The Wild Horses represents the fiercely honest and thoroughly engaging expression of authentic country music”. And the plaudits continued with The Rocking Magpie (UK) claiming “americana in its purest form….these songs conjure up a cinematic imagery in a way we associate with filmmakers as disparate as John Ford and David Lynch”, and AmericanRoots.com (UK) clearly concurred by adding “The lyrical content, melodies and arrangements have raised the bar to a giddy hight…As good and as deep as country music can get, and no doubt will be not just a 2019 favourite, but a decade favourite for many”. The album was embellished with contributions from legendary musicians Lloyd Maines and Eamon McLoughlin, and as hard as it is to choose, I personally believe “Hush The Wild Horses” to be her best yet. And the emphasis is on yet.

The last few years have proved to be full of heartbreak for Harrington, starting with the death of her son Mandolin Hooper on September 18th, 2022, from sudden liver failure at just 30 years of age. Then, just five months later, Nick Lawson also passed away after being hospitalised from a fall, where a scan revealed a dark secret: his body was riddled with cancer. He passed away peacefully with his family by his side, listening to Harrington’s music. I had the good fortune to meet Lawson on numerous occasions, though mostly at Harrington’s gigs, and I never met anyone more passionate about music.

Harrington naturally took time to grieve, having married and moved to Vancouver, Washington. In addition to already being a published author, her debut book “Sunburst” had been released in early 2022, she qualified as both an ordained minister and a Yoga teacher, as well as gathering up all her son’s best songs for an album that she produced entitled “The Late Great Mandolin Hooper” (nod to TVZ, of course). However, the most exciting news of all is that she is preparing to release her sixth studio album, entitled “Cowboy”, due out either later this year or early 2026, with a tour of the UK pencilled in for July 4th -21st next year, so keep your diaries free, and your eyes and ears open.

Throughout her five studio albums to date, Harrington has continually garnered the sort of praise that most artists are lucky to receive once in their careers. They can’t all be wrong, and they’re not. So if Rachel Harrington is a name that has somehow managed to slip under your radar up to now, do yourself a favour and indulge yourself in these attached songs, and then treat yourself to the albums, I promise you won’t be disappointed. If Harrington’s songs were something you used to lose yourself in, then rejoice, a new album is imminent, and if there’s any justice, her music will finally reach the audience it truly deserves. I know Nick Lawson would approve.