Taylor Rae’s debut CD, MAD TWENTIES, marks its 20th week on the AMA Americana Radio Albums Chart, where it previously reached the Top 10. Currently only two other artists’ albums match that chart longevity. MAD TWENTIES is enjoying its first week on the Roots Music Report’s Top 50 Americana Country Albums Chart, entering at #5. The California native’s current single, “Just Be,” was released last month and the Groove/Blues/Rocker debuts on charts this week. The track follows the five-week Top 10 success of Taylor’s first single, “Home On The Road.”
Written after Taylor’s first solo trip to Nashville, “Just Be” was inspired by the stark contrast she found between Nashville and Los Angeles. Taylor recalls, “In L.A., it is easy to get caught up in the ‘next best thing’ mentality and I feel that in Nashville the culture allows for more opportunity to find happiness in the small achievements and simple moments. The one-take track is a fun, dirty bar Blues jam that sounds live and real.”
Henry Carrigan, writing for No Depression notes, “Rae lays down her powerful and fierce lead vocals; Miranda Lambert meets Chi Coltrane meets Marcia Ball on this rousing affirmation of living life in the moment . . . on this standout song.”
British journalist Alan Cackett (Alan Cackett Reviews) describes the single as “a steamy, sultry track, straight out of some invitingly cool jam night in the 1970s. Whether you call it swamp boogie, Memphis Soul, Blues or Jazz-Rock, it is ultimately a cauldron of emotional freedom from which musical magic emerges.”
Fervor Coulee’s Donald Teplyske compares “Just Be” to a “relaxed jam between highly talented friends.”
Recent performances include the Rochester International Jazz Festival (NY), NPR’s Mountain Stage and Nashville’s City Winery. Taylor’s fan base continues to grow with her music’s inclusion on Woodsongs, WXPN’s World Café playlist, CMT The Edge, and more.
Taylor will join popular singer/songwriter and New West Records’ artist Pokey LaFarge for a mini tour Aug. 2-9. She will also appear on select shows in September and October with award-winning Bluegrass singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and Rounder Records’ star Sierra Hull.
Full Itinerary
July 22 Seattle, WA - The Rabbit Box
July 30 Half Moon Bay, CA - Half Moon Bay Brewing Company
July 31 Corte Madera, CA - Corte Madera Summer Concerts
Aug 2 Indianapolis, IN - Clowes Memorial Hall (Butler U.) - Pokey LaFarge
Aug 4 Durand, WI - Blues on the Chippewa - Pokey LaFarge
Aug 5 Minneapolis, MN - Dakota - Pokey LaFarge
Aug 7 Berwyn, IL - Fitzgerald's - Pokey LaFarge
Aug 9 Grand Rapids, MI - The Listening Room - Pokey LaFarge
Aug 11 Santa Rosa, CA - KRSH Backyard Concert
Sept 13-17 Nashville, TN - AMERICANAFEST
Sept 24 Burlington, VT - Higher Ground - Sierra Hull
Sept 27 Pittsburgh, PA - Thunderbird Café - Sierra Hull
Sept 28 Cincinnati, OH - Memorial Hall - Sierra Hull
Sept 29 Boone, NC - Appalachian Theatre - Sierra Hull
Oct 2 Charleston, SC - Pour House - Sierra Hull
