All the way from Nashville, The Rachel Baiman Band will appear in concert in Katoomba on January 7.
The Americana songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is touring her new record Shame, described as a “rootsy wake-up call”.
Shame, is an exploration of growing up female in America. Despite the serious subject matter, the overall tenor of the album remains light while the arrangements depart from her stripped-down work with progressive folk duo 10 String Symphony.
Shame’s musical intensity is rooted within the current American political climate.
“I wasn’t necessarily trying to write songs that would be easy to listen to,” Baiman said of the project. “I wanted to write about reality, in all of it’s terror and beauty.”
From the title track about abortion politics, to love, sex, and abuse in relationships, to classism and inequality in her re-write of Andy Irvine’s working class anthem Never Tire of the Road, the album is ambitious, yet remains cohesive through Baiman’s personal perspective.
In addition to the release of her new solo album, Baiman is the co-founder of a new political group called Folk Fights Back, a musician-led national organisation that puts together benefit concerts and awareness events in response to the Trump administration.
As a teenager, Baiman found music to be a welcome escape from worrying about global politics. “When I moved to Nashville to pursue music it felt like something positive, beautiful and productive that I could put into the world,” she said.
Baiman appears upstairs at the Metropole Guesthouse in Katoomba on January 7, with special guests Piccolo Bear, the local folk bluegrass duo Vanessa Caspersz and Daniel Di Biase. Doors open at 5pm. More info: www.fusionboutique.com.au
