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Photo via Facebook Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light have a new song out that borders traditional folk and folk pop. Musically, "Yodelay" is pure traditional folk. It's made with traditional instruments, with vocal harmonies being the main focus. But, it also sounds so smooth and poppy that we can't help but get some folk pop vibes. This is a simple song that is fully mesmerizing, and fans of any form of folk or Americana is going to find a lot to love with "Yodelay." Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light are one of the most underrated artists in Boston, and songs like this latest single show exactly why.  You can watch the video for "Yodelay" below. Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light's new EP is due out June 19. For more on the artist, check out their website . Upcoming tour dates are below the video and include July 11 at Westport River Vineyards in Westport, MA opening for Lucy Kaplansky, September 19 at Scenic Songs Hiking Concert in Peter...

Rachel Sumner just does modern folk music in her own way. Her latest single, "3000 Miles," combines progressive folk with a more pop sound than we typically hear, and the result is a song that is both art and quite accessible. Sumner's vocals are just dripping with charm, and you're instantly pulled in as soon as she starts singing. The music (co-written by Dan Bui of Twisted Pine) has that laid back but oddly intense feel to it that has made us look forward to any new release from Sumner. Not many artists can be considered traditional, progressive, and pop, but Sumner keeps finding new ways to combine them all. Rachel Sumner says of the video for her latest single: "The pink lawn flamingo finds herself in a lawnless desert-scape, tries to make the most of it, but travels out East where she can become  real.  I'll leave it to folks to connect the dots and find the parallels :)" You can watch the video for "3000 Miles" below. Heartless Things is...

Photo by Hannah Cohen While Rachel Sumner's debut solo album was based more in traditional string band folk, her latest single sees her expand on that sound. "Katie" evokes more of a chamber-folk and indie-pop sound. It's reminding me of a smaller version of Ben Folds Five's The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner. Sumner's new single floats around the listener, and has a true sense of love and joy that is only amplified by how intimate the song feels. "Katie" feels like a warm hug from a friend you haven't seen in years just when you really need it. Rachel Sumner says of her new song: “In each song there's some aspect of heartlessness and selfishness that threads everything together. 'Katie'  is the thematic antidote of the album. It's a love song for roommates or friends - dear ones that fall into despair - with the needed reminder that despite the hard times, there may be 'fields full of flowers' just around the ...

Photo by Hannah Cohen We last heard from Rachel Sumner back in September when she released the excellent single "Radium Girls (Curie Eleison)." Now the former member of Twisted Pine is back with a follow up. "So What" is a little more along the lines of traditional folk-pop than its predecessor, but, as everything Sumner is involved with, the song has its very own feel to it. This one is a little bit more jazz and definitely more playful. "Radium Girls (Curie Eleison)" was a serious song about a serious subject, and "So What" lets Sumner's fun side out. The song also shifts through genres as it goes on, and cycles through so many different segments than you'd think possible in under four minutes. You can listen to "So What" below. For more on Rachel Sumner, check out the artist's website .

Photo by Hannah Cohen Last year saw Twisted Pine's Rachel Sumner release her debut solo album Rachel Sumner & The Travelling Light , and she's back with a new single (although it did win a Lennon Award in 2021). "Radium Girls (Curie Eleison)" tells the tale of the young women who were knowingly exposed to radium poisoning in factories in the 1920s, and the cover up by the companies involved. Sumner's song is a beautiful and haunting folk song that tells the true story of these women without pulling any punches. It's a heartbreaking story, but one that needs to be told, especially by a songwriter as talented as Sumner. Rachel Sumner says of her new song: “To this day it boils my blood to think about what happened to these women, but the day I first read about them I was absolutely livid. It had been nearly a hunded years since radium dial companies started cropping up. I took my urge to shout their story from rooftops and focused it into crafting a ballad t...