erin rae
15 Minute Live Performances: Erin Rae
Erin Rae is one of our favorite artists to emerge in the past year. The singer-songwriter is one of Nashville’s finest rising talents. Her breakthrough album, Lighten Up, produced by Jonathan Wilson, is shaping the latest generation of cosmic country. Earlier this year, we spoke with the 31-year-old and she explained to us how everything came together, from a creative and mental wellness place. “I think I have realized in the last couple of years, I was born with a certain set of anxious tendencies. Kind of an overactive, maybe hypervigilant mind. But then I also got to learn that I can sing, and that has always provided a soothing antidote to my brain.” In her 15 Minute Live Performance, she showcases her earnest songwriting and her outstanding ability to connect through live performance....
Light of Day
Given a few beats to think it over, Erin Rae — whose enchanting second solo album, Lighten Up is out now — concludes that she is, in fact, a happy person. Based on her lilting voice and the gentle smile on her new record’s cover, it seems easy to accept that at face value. Folky and folksy, her pleasant style pervades all 12 tracks, along with the alluring and disarming production from Jonathan Wilson that adds a feel of psychedelia. And it’s helpful, perhaps therapeutic, to consider the question, as she notes during a smiling and easygoing Zoom call with SPIN. Because her songs offer a message that “would be so much heavier if the music also conveyed that.” Rae knows better to just dump music and perform into a personal blend of therapy. “I definitely need other therapy,” she says, laughi...
