Minnesotan singer-songwriter Rachael Kilgour released three albums between 2008 and 2013, and two years later collected prestigious honors for her craft: grand prize at the NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition, a finalist at the Telluride Troubadour Contest. But her artistic prowess was met with personal hardship.
She divorced in 2014, and for her first album in four years, she worked to come to terms with her changing relationship with her former partner and adolescent stepdaughter. Ahead of Rabbit in the Road — due March 3 on NewSong Recordings — we’re premiering “Deep Bruises,” a heartfelt slice of master crafted indie folk brimming with the battle-tested capacity to endure the worst in others.
“I was taught from a young age that a person’s hurtful behavior is almost always a sign of inner pain, and not a reflection of your self-worth,” Kilgour says. “The second track on the album, ‘Deep Bruises,’ was my attempt to put that belief into practice following an unexpected and painful divorce.”
So when Kilgour sings “No one’s predictable as you,” there’s a steadfast confidence to her voice, which lingers around the guitar and keystrokes like smoke above a dying fire. There’s hints of Stevie Nicks and Neko Case in her pensive, almost rustic vocals, which do great justice to the song’s solemn mood. Check it out below, along with Kilgour’s upcoming tour dates.
Feb. 4: Eat My Words Bookstore, Minneapolis, Minn.
Feb. 10: House Concert, Hibbing, Minn.
Feb. 11: Prairie Wind, Windom, Minn.
Feb. 17: House Concert, Eagan, Minn.
Feb. 18: House Concert, Minneapolis, Minn.
Feb. 24: Uncommon Ground, Chicago, Ill.
Feb. 25: The Broad Museum, Lansing, Mich.
Feb. 25: The Pumphouse, Lansing, Mich.
March 3: The Park Theater, Hayward, Wisc.
March 4: Crescendo Madison, Wisc. with Josh Harty
March 11: House Concert, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
March 12: Des Moines Social Club, Des Monies, Iowa
March 22: Glensheen Mansion Unplugged Series, Duluth, Minn.
March 23: Root Note, La Crosse, Wisc.
April 1: Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis, Minn. with Lucy Kaplansky
April 23: Jubilee House Concert, Duluth, Minn.
May 6: Circle of Friends Coffee House, Franklin, Mass. with Catie Curtis
May 11: Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, Ver.
May 18: One Longfellow Square, Portland, Maine with Connor Garvey and Caroline Spence
May 20: Burghsong Concert Series, Pittsburgh, Penn.