DENVER, CO โ- October 10, 2024 – Celticโค duo Rakish is โbringing its innovative blend of traditional instrumentation and contemporary songwriting toโฃ Colorado thisโข weekend, culminating a tour supporting their latest album, Nowโข O, Now. The album marks a departure for the group, featuring a โcollection of original compositions, including instrumental pieces – a first for Rakish.
Formed by โฃfiddler and vocalist Liz Scanlin and guitarist/vocalist kevinโ Hearn, Rakish draws on Scanlin’s extensive โbackgroundโฃ in traditional music. Scanlin is โฃa two-time U.S.National Scottish Fiddle Champion and โa winner of Scotland’s Glenfiddich Fiddle โCompetition. Now O, Now โreflects a shift towards โ”through-composed instrumental music,” expanding on single tunes rather โฃthan traditional medleys. “Instead ofโฃ just having more of โa traditional context for the tunes we were playing, like traditional โirish musicโ strings together threeโ or four tunes in a medley, we were taking one tune and expanding it and almost taking it to an end and breaking โit โapart of using those pieces from โsome of are โฃother โคmusical influences or more improvisedโข music,”โฃ Scanlin explained.
Lyrically, theโฃ album explores themesโ of nature, inspired by Scanlin’s trip to Prince Edward Island, and the experiences of a touringโ musician, including feelings of homesickness. Songs like “Lonely Hotel Room” andโฃ “Islandโฃ in โขtheโค Sea” notably capture this sentiment.โข “All of โคthem have a little bit of that melancholy about thinking about music and community and musical community and how all those things areโ a partโ ofโข this โขlifestyle that we’re leading,” Scanlin said. “The beauty and sometimes the more sorrowful elements that comes with that.”
Rakish will perform at Swallow Hill inโ Denver on Sunday, October 12, with support from Salomรฉ Songbird. โThey will then play a โขfree house showโฃ in Fort collins on Monday, October โ13, and conclude their Colorado run at eTownโ Hall in Boulder โonโฃ Tuesday, Octoberโ 14.
The duoโค emphasizes the importance โฃof the live music experience, aimingโ to provide a โคunique set eachโค night and contextualize their music for audiences. “there’s something specialโ about sitting down for an hour โขand just taking โคin music all atโ once, opposed toโข hearing โขjust one trackโ on โstreaming. It’s a โdifferent energy arch,” Scanlin stated. Hearn, who also works as โคa stand-up โcomedian, added, “Context canโค give you a bigger emotional range sometimes.”
Tickets for the Swallow Hill showโข are $32 and availableโค at https://swallowhillmusic.org/event/salome-songbird-and-rakish/.