Rachel Baiman, Barbaro

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Natia Cinco

A close-up of Rachel Baiman.

Rachel Baiman

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media release: Acclaimed singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Rachel Baiman’s new song, “Lovers and Leavers,” which addresses her battle with bipolar disorder, is debuting today.

Reflecting on the song, Baiman shares, “I wrote this song long before I knew what was going on in my brain, but now I hear it back and think, wow, that’s a song about bipolar disorder, which I disguised, even to myself at the time, as a love song.”

“Lovers and Leavers” is the second song unveiled from Baiman’s anticipated new album, Common Nation of Sorrow, which will be released March 31 via Signature Sounds (pre-order here). Produced by Baiman, mixed by Tucker Martine (Neko Case, The Decemberists, First Aid Kit) and recorded at The Tractor Shed outside of Nashville, the album offers an assessment of the country’s current state, telling stories of American capitalism as well as the individual and communal devastation it manifests. Across the record’s ten tracks, including the previously released, “Self Made Man,” Baiman highlights these shared experiences with the hope they become a tool for activism.   

“My generation has had to wake up to the intensity of our own economic oppression,” Baiman reflects. “The reality is that the vast majority of us are being taken advantage of by the same brutal economic and political systems. Maybe that shared oppression is a place in which we can meet and fight back.” 

In addition to Baiman, Common Nation of Sorrow also features Riley Calcagno (acoustic guitar, banjo), Miles Miller (drums - Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers), Josh Oliver (acoustic guitar, electric guitar- Watchhouse), Ashleigh Caudill (bass), Adam Chaffins (bass), Anthony De Costa (acoustic guitar, electric guitar), Lauren Horbal (drums), and Tristan Scroggins (mandolin), and was recorded by GRAMMY Award-winning engineer Sean Sullivan, known for his work with Sturgill Simpson and Tyler Childers. 

In celebration of the release, Baiman will embark on an extensive headline tour this spring including shows at Nashville’s Basement East, Milwaukee’s High Noon Saloon, Minneapolis’ Cedar Cultural Center, Denver’s Swallow Hill, Seattle’s Tractor Tavern, Cambridge’s Club Passim, Washington, DC’s Pearl Street Warehouse and Brooklyn’s Owl Music Parlor among many others. She will also perform several shows in the U.K. in March. See below for complete itinerary. Full details can be found at www.rachelbaiman.com/tour. 

Raised in Chicago, Baiman moved to Nashville at age eighteen with the dream of becoming a professional fiddle player, before falling in love with songwriting. In the years since, she’s released two acclaimed full-length records—2021’s Cycles and her 2017 debut, Shame, of which NPR Music praised, “wry truth-telling…a jaunty banjo figure bobs above a strolling folk-rock groove and sets a playful tone, while her lyrics, delivered with reedy, willful nonchalance, critique the merging of religious, moral and political influence.” Additionally, Vice’s Noisey declared, “Shame will have you flipping authority off one song at a time.” In addition to her own releases, Baiman continues to work as a musician in a variety of forms, with credits including session and live side-person work for Kacey Musgraves, Amy Ray, Kevin Morby, Kelsey Waldon and Molly Tuttle among many others.