New Single! Songwriting Classes! & Sweet Opening Slots!

photo by Andrew Janjigian

photo by Andrew Janjigian

The Bluegrass Situation Premiere: "Rocks & Gravel" (Kacy & Clayton Cover)
My next single is here and The Bluegrass Situation has the scoop! Read about the brand new track and get your first listen here.

It will be available on all streaming platforms beginning August 30th, so take a second and save the track so that it will be handy when it's released!!


Steve Poltz, Say Darling, & Michelle Malone
You may be asking yourself, "What do these three have in common?" The answer is me! I'll be opening for all three of these wonderful acts with solo sets in the next month.
If you can, I would highly advise you go to all of them.

8.23 // Steve Poltz >> Club Passim

8.24 // Say Darling >> Riverwalk Cafe and Music Bar

9.18 // Michelle Malone >> The Burren Backroom


Songwriting Classes
I am so pleased to say I'll be coming back to the Passim School of Music to resume teaching my two songwriting classes. Both will be 6-week courses that meet on Mondays beginning on September 9th.
Classes are on sale now!

A Song That Haunts
In this class — part investigation, part workshop — we will explore how to write haunting songs by dissecting a handful of the best.
Watch a video introduction here.

After The Song Hits: The Next Steps of Songwriting
Lyrics? Check. Melody? Check. Now what?

The life cycle of your song has just begun! In After the Song Hits: The Next Steps of Songwriting, you’ll learn the next steps and set of skills you’ll need to get your song ready for recording and for others to play it. We’ll workshop arrangements, and learn about chart making and basic demoing. By the end of this class you’ll have a strong sense of your song and the confidence to let the world know about it!

Requirement: you need to have only ONE complete song (lyrics, chords, & melody) that we can work on throughout the class.


Shows
A U G U S T

Friday, 8.23 // CAMBRIDGE, MA
Club Passim
Solo opening set for Steve Poltz (he writes a lot with Jewel!). 7pm doors, 8pm show.
RSVP on Facebook | Grab your tickets in advance

Saturday, 8.24 // NASHUA, NH
Riverwalk Cafe & Music Bar
Solo opening set for the powerhouse band Say Darling at my favorite Nashua spot! 7pm doors, 8pm show.
RSVP on Facebook | Grab your tickets in advance

S E P T E M B E R

Wednesday, 9.04 // ALLSTON, MA
AERONAUT Allston Beer Garden
**FREE FULL BAND SHOW** outdoors!! Soak up the last bit of summer with the Rachel Sumner Band! Show begins at 7pm.
RSVP on Facebook

Wednesday, 9.18 // SOMERVILLE, MA
The Burren
Solo opening set for Georgia-based singer-songwriter/guitarist extraordinaire Michelle Malone! Show begins promptly at 7pm.
RSVP on Facebook | Grab your tickets in advance


O C T O B E R

Friday, 10.18 // NASHUA, NH
Riverwalk Cafe & Music Bar
Solo opening set for Laura Cortese and The Dance Cards! 7pm doors, 8pm show.
Grab your tickets in advance

Saturday, 10.26 // SOMERVILLE, MA
Thunder Road
Duo set with Adam Gurczak opening for The Soggy Po' Boys' album release! Say Darling will be there, too! 7pm doors, 8pm show.
RSVP on Facebook | Grab your tickets in advance


Recommendations

Abbey Road turns 50 on September 27th and, thanks to copyright laws, a Super Duluxe Edition of the album will be released on the anniversary. I really can't wait for this. It'll be released in a format similar to the recent re-releases of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and White Album, which means it will include outtakes and demos, giving us a little peep into the Fab Four & George Martin's creative processes. I'm about to start recording my debut full length album, so The Beatles oeuvre is where my brain is at.

Not a bad place to be, if you ask me.

'Something' is one of my favorite songs, so I was extremely pleased to find they teased the upcoming release with a studio demo and an instrumental strings-only take.


Thank you for subscribing and reading! I hope to see you soon.

- R

Rachel Sumner