Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachael Kilgour.
Hi Rachael, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I am a singer-songwriter born and raised in Duluth, MN. I come from a working-class family that was focused on service and community. I was drawn to music from a young age and was lucky that my neighborhood school was designated a music magnet and provided music lessons of all kinds that might have otherwise been out of my reach.
I continued studying music in college but ultimately stepped away from my studies when I discovered songwriting and performance midway through my degree. It felt transformational, as a formerly shy kid, to express myself so clearly and be seen and heard.
I’ve been singing now, as a way of life, for nearly 20 years. My life has taken many turns – married and step-parenting through most of my 20s, partnered again in my 30s, and working on a house renovation project that was an enormous labor of love. I haven’t always kept my career front and center but I try to embrace the path I’ve taken and the way I move through the world.
This fall, I released a project I’m incredibly proud of – an album entitled “My Father Loved Me” which was written in memory of my late father. I’ve learned so much about him and myself through it. Especially regarding my own beliefs about mortality and the meaning of life.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’ve always struggled to carve out a place for myself, to go to bat for myself, especially as an artist.
My parents raised me to think of others, and to consider the good of the whole before the good of self. It’s a beautiful and rewarding way to find your place in the world, but it is a challenge to be born with the heart of an artist in a culture like that! It has always been my work to learn to take up space and to dream.
I do find that the completion of the cycle of songwriting – the sharing of the recorded work and the performing – fills me up in a familiar way. It is essentially about what my creations can give others, and how revealing my humanity helps others find their own.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I think I’m known for writing simple and very vulnerable songs. I write mostly as a therapeutic practice for myself, so the songs that come out of me often cut deep into my most complicated experiences as a human.
I’ve written quite a lot about grief in the past years – first through the complicated feelings after divorce and most recently with the death of my father.
And I think the thing that is most potent about the songs is my willingness to reveal my insecurities and moral doubts and relational growth in a way we don’t often do in conversation. And yet they come out of me quite conversationally.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
As an artist, it has always grounded me to connect with folks who similarly make sense of the world. I have a lot of friends who are songwriters and poets and there is such a beautiful, connected community to be had there – in a life that could feel very lonely.
I think making a living as an artist is one of the most challenging things. Capitalism and art feel directly at odds with one another – and yet we must eat! I am still learning to value my work, to ask for what I’m worth, and to seek opportunities that will give me financial security.
But I think at the heart of that has to be a commitment to the making and the growing and the exploring of your artistry. Success as an artist – in both impact and career stability – has to come from a place of honesty.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rachaelkilgour.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachaelkilgour/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachaelkilgourmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@rachaelkilgourmusic
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/album/2yZDKMsUpdrb8JlSm4UNoa?si=wGE3DWJOSb2j2azWul1lFQ
Image Credits
Kara Dupre and Sara Pajunen
