“Holding it together is a metaphor / For someone trying not to fall apart / Like the bellows of a loosely hung accordion / That move against a tightly pleated heart” sings Rachel Garlin from the edge of the stage at Berkeley’s historic Freight and Salvage. Days later the singer-songwriter -meets-rock-troubadour is on a plane to Cambridge, MA kicking off an East Coast tour at Club Passim before skipping down to her old stomping grounds in NYC to play at the Rockwood. 

Garlin’s interest in people—their stories, struggles, and truths—is at the heart of her work. Her expansive repertoire ranges from groove tunes to ballads to full-banded rock songs, each one laced with her signature style of “denim and poetry”--threads of textures and experiences and conversations that she weaves into three-minute story songs that feel artfully succinct and deeply complete. 

On stage, Garlin shows up to connect with live audiences and to share songs that iimbue their recognizable, everyday characters with dignity and magic, all the while writing “infectiously poignant music that resonates in a timeless way.” (Glide Magazine 2021) Her lyrics--literary, imagery-rich–are at the center of the work, and adeptly supported by bandmates and producers such as Jonny Flaugher and Julie Wolf, both of whom work closely with Garlin to place each song--each story--in a unique musical context while also creating a cohesive sound. Together they make albums (in the old-fashioned sense of the word) that are complete musical villages where each song is also a little snow-globe unto itself, a world to be stirred and settled.

Alone and tucked into her tiny writing-cave at home, or gathered with bandmates at a storied recording studio in the Bay Area or L.A., Rachel starts her songs with improvised lyrics and melodies. Inspired by words themselves–the way they sound and the way they vibrate against her small-bodied guitar–her creative process leads to musical offerings that blend heartache and hope, social reflection and self-discovery. 

An inquisitive kid growing up in Berkeley, Rachel picked up her father’s Gibson J-50 so she could learn to strum songs she wanted to sing. After college, she traveled to the mountains of Guatemala to learn Spanish. “I started performing cover songs at the open mic at a local cafe, and eventually landed my first real gig where I played an original song, “Comunidad”--based on the community spirit that I experienced while traveling.” Since then, Garlin’s travels have taken her far and wide.

With her eight indie albums she has toured the country and shared the stage with some of her own songwriting heroes, savored her time as a true collaborator in her community, and stayed committed to keeping the creative channels open and sharing her work. Her latest album The State That We Are In has gained media attention for its tracks and accompanying videos that recently premiered in Americana Highways, Pop Matters, and American Blues Scene. 

Rachel lives in San Francisco with her wife and kids."