For those not in the know, with her lyrically driven songs, Rachel McIntyre Smith’s comfort twang music reminds listeners of the classics while also adding a relevant and fresh perspective.

Raised in the small East Tennessee town of Oliver Springs, Rachel began piano lessons at 9 years old. She won the Tennessee State Piano Competition twice and earned the Paderewski Medal for Guild for 10 years of superior ratings in a row.

This strong background of music theory allowed Rachel to excel in other areas of music. She taught herself ukulele and guitar and also served as clarinet section leader in her school band. She made her debut singing “Please Mister Postman” in the high school theater arts production.

Upon graduating from college, she compiled 13 demos of her original music and began sending them to venues. Due to the quirky subject matter of her original “The Kitten Song,” she became a regular performer at cat cafes. In early 2020, she launched a concert tour of those feline-friendly venues.

In 2022, Rachel independently released her debut EP Glory Daze, which went on to be featured on BBC Radio, Spotify’s Best of Fresh Finds Country 2022, and Grady Smith’s Youtube Channel where he named the title track one of the best country songs of 2022.

Now in 2024, Rachel just released her second EP, Honeysuckle Friend, which features her most poignant lyrics set to banjo, mandolin, and three-part harmonies.

1. Grow Up Slow
2. Parentheses
3. Memories In The Middle
4. Stoke The Coals
5. Hold The Ladder

Her brightly colored style, smooth vocals, and small-town charm immediately comes to the fore on the dreamy Grow Up Slow and then we get brought forth the luxuriant Parentheses, the upbeat and free-wheeling Memories In The Middle, the delightful new recording rounding out on the impassioned foot-tapper Stoke The Coals, closing on the robustly emboldened Hold The Ladder.

Musicians: Andy Ellison (steel guitar) & Johnny Smith (drums).

Grow Up Slow by Rachel McIntyre Smith (Lyric Video)

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