EMERALD Rae

Fiddler & Folksinger

Emerald Rae is a fiddler and folksinger from the seaside town of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Roots Music Report hails her as “a spell-caster of no small skill… maxing out her axe’s potential in the service of her consistently compelling melodies” and recognizes her self-titled 2018 release as “one of the year’s more fetching releases”. She was chosen as a Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Emerging Artist and is quickly gaining ground as one of the top new artists to follow this year. Pairing ornamented vocals with groovy percussive fiddle, Emerald pushes the boundaries of the imagination with a refreshingly colorful palate.

PHOTOS by Anna Colliton

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EMERALD RAE EXPLORES THE BOUNDARIES OF FIDDLING & SONGWRITING

with self-titled album (2018)

Fiddler & Folksinger Emerald Rae brings the duo of strings and song to a new plateau with mesmerizing dexterity. Hailing from the historic fishing community of Gloucester, Massachusetts, Emerald Rae is both a small-town girl steeped in cherished folk traditions and a world-class artist breaking new ground with inventive fiddle effects. A degree in Film Scoring from Berklee College of Music in Boston gave her the freedom to cast a wide creative net, while her grit and intensity was earned during her twenty-year career as a powerhouse fiddler and dancer. Rae embarked on her first journey into songwriting and multi-instrumentalism with If Only I Could Fly [May 2013], featuring her prowess on fiddle, vocals, guitar and the crwth [an ancient Welsh fiddle, pronounced “krooth”], and took to the road from the Canadian Maritimes to Shanghai. Single and video Blackbird [April 2017], a droning, groove-heavy version of the traditional Scottish Ballad, showcases her signature ornamented vocals and robust fiddling accompanied by a laid back djembe.

Zeroing in on the synergy of voice and fiddle, the self-produced self-titled album Emerald Rae [May 2018] offers a rare scope of vision and reveals her depth as an artist. Rae’s extraordinary chops transform the fiddle into anything from bagpipes to flamenco or electric guitar, slap bass or ukulele. Her direct and intimate voice, alternately high and honeyed then gutsy and soulful, encompasses both wind and sea, animal and etheric. Though intended as a minimalist introspective album, Rae pulls of an impressive level of variety. Her take on a sea shanty, “Deep Salt Sea” kicks off the record with edgy soundscapes, “When the Silvery Moon Comes Out to Play” drives with angsty power chords, “Inkwell” paints an intimate portrait of an awkward bookworm, and “Worlds Away” shouts from the rooftops about income inequality with foot percussion and a wailing old-timey fiddle. This collection of homespun vignettes will take you on a journey and leave you spellbound.

“Emerald Rae takes her folk roots into fresh sounding regions, maxing out her axe’s potential in the service of her consistently compelling melodies. A spell-caster of no small skill, Ms. Rae matches her bowing prowess with appealing use of her fiddle for strumming and plucking vocal punctuation. Minimal production touches provide the ideal finish on one of the year’s more fetching releases.”

— Duane Verh, Roots Music Report

“Gloucester musician Emerald Rae has a way of pushing the boundaries with a fiddle that seems almost impossible. On her recent, self-titled album, she achieves a sound that’s both full and icicle delicate, with songs such as “Deep Salt Sea,” “Who Will Lie Behind You Now” and “Lonely Road” being alternately achingly beautiful and bracing as cold rain.”

— Victor Infante, Worcester Telegram