Rachel Drew & John Szymanski
media release: Performances may be cancelled/postponed for any number of reasons, so always check for updates on our website and/or Facebook page.
RACHEL DREW is a singer-songwriter from Chicago celebrated for her soulful voice and catchy, self-penned tunes that blend pop, folk, and soul. She grew up singing 3-part harmony with her parents and making up songs on the family piano. For Rachel, music and harmony are home, medicine, and pure connection. Her latest album, “Old Sky New,” has been recognized as one of the 13 Best Chicago Albums of 2024 by the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ/Vocalo-NPR.
Rachel’s music was featured on NPR’s Great American Folk Show in 2024, and on WFMT’s legendary Midnight Special program. Alongside her band—JOHN SZYMANSKI (Jon Langford) on guitar, Michael Krayniak (Anna Fermin’s Trigger Gospel) on bass, and Jason Batchko on drums—Rachel is a dynamic force on stage. Alan Harrison of The Rocking Magpie writes of Old Sky New, “There’s something of a hint of Dusty in Memphis, minus the strings here; as Rachel has a similar breathy and pearlescent voice that reels you in, and before you know it you’re sitting totally engrossed in the offering coming out of the speakers… In many ways songs like Stuck In The House All Day and Please Don’t Wake Me Up are Classic Country songs; but the arrangements are pure Laurel Canyon at its height when Linda Ronstadt and Mama Cass could do no wrong.”