So Rachel Ries and Anais Mitchell played recently in my living room as part of an intermmitant Songs:Illinois house concert series. The show is still reverberating with my family and I, as well as some of the complete strangers we welcomed into our home. We were graced with many new songs from both artists including songs from Anais upcoming release on Righteous Babe. But none of the songs were as powerful as the new one from Rachel Ries which she has just uploaded onto her My Space page.
“Grace The Day” is a song about finding new meaning in one’s life when the person who held any meaning has left. The answer according to the song is to find “another way to grace the day”. This is a demo but it’s an exceptionally beautiful one with excellent sonics (you can hear Rachel clear her throat occasionally). You’d be foolish not to buy Rachel Ries’ For You Only here.
PS Anais Mitchell’s signing with Righteous Babe is now official and a song from her Feb. 2007 release, The Brightness, is now streaming on My Space. The song “Hades and Persephone” comes from her upcoming production of Hadestown a new folk opera she has produced based on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.