Rachel Lyn Harrington & The Knock Outs residency with Side Saddle and Vanessa Small (of the Brambles

Rachel Lyn Harrington & The Knock Outs

What is country soul? On her new LP, Celilo Falls, Rachel Harrington stakes out the territory where love and heartbreak duke it out, where the sacred and profane share a drunken lullaby and where life's most important moments are described with the unflinching, simple honesty afforded by a voice and a guitar. For Harrington, the songs on her third album are instinctive and easily described: "The record is about things that are real – your place in the world and the people there with you."

At once reverently traditional and boldly distinctive, Celilo Falls [suh-LIE-low] takes its name from a stretch of waterfalls along the Columbia River that divides the states of Oregon and Washington. Since the building of the giant Dalles Dam in the early 1950s, the once-raging falls have been completely buried, submerged under the backwater of progress. “A lot of this record is, for me, about what lies beneath.”

Harrington has a personal connection to the falls as well. Her grandmother was a welder on the Dalles Dam. In fact, it’s where her grandmother met her grandfather (see track 6). “If it weren’t for the dam, I wouldn’t be here.”

Drawing from a rich array of influences including an upbringing in the Pentecostal pines of Oregon and a dad with a secret stash of Motown and Stax albums, glimpses of Otis Redding, Loretta Lynn, Sam Cooke, Hank Williams, Ray Charles and Emmylou Harris can all be spotted prowling the edges of Harrington’s work. With timeless production by Evan Brubaker, Celilo Falls brings together an inspired cast of supporting musicians including Ronnie McCoury (Del McCoury Band) and Rod Clements (Lindisfarne, Bert Jansch). Harrington and Clements are fresh off a three-month European tour.

Rachel Harrington has toured tirelessly since the release of her 2007 debut, The Bootlegger’s Daughter (“Four Stars,” Mojo) and her follow-up in 2008, City of Refuge (“inspiringly original!” Q). She’s played major festivals throughout Europe and the US, made three live appearances on the BBC’s legendary Bob Harris Show, and reached millions of listeners through airplay at Starbucks. Celilo Falls released in Europe and the UK on Rounder Europe/CRS in Nov. 2010 and Jan. 2011 respectively, debuting at #3 on the Euro-Americana Chart. Official US release is Feb 15, 2011.

FOUR STARS: “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." Bury Me Close: #34 on Q’s “50 Essential Tracks To Download This Month ~Q MAGAZINE (Feb 2011)

FOUR STARS: “songs that conjure the ghosts of old America” ~MOJO MAGAZINE (Feb 2011)

FOUR STARS: The Irish Times Top-10 Albums of the Year List includes cds by Bruce Springsteen, Richard Thompson, Willie Nelson, Robert Plant and Neil Young. At #7, Rachel Harrington's Celilo Falls. ~THE IRISH TIMES (Dec 2010)
FOUR STARS: “a compelling blend of twang and swing … a sharply rendered sound portrait” ~SONGLINES MAGAZINE (Jan 2011)

Side Saddle

Side Saddle is an authentic honky tonk, country-western band puttin’ on a show fer y’all that’s Texas-sized! Payin’ tribute to our beloved heroines, Miss Loretta Lynn, the one-and-only Patsy Cline, that rowdy Skeeter Davis, the feisty Dolly Parton, sweet Emmylou Harris and all them great Show Women in history! Side Saddle takes you back to the early days of the Opry, when a star was a star, a show was a show, and every foot in the house was stomping… Big voices, big dresses, big hair, big hootenany!