Last October, as she was putting out her single “No Returns Policy,” the Mayo singer-songwriter Rachel Walsh (p/k/a RACHEL) – who was then living and working as a schoolteacher in Kildare – told us that, after some success that she had with gigs in Boston and Chicago over the summer, she wouldn’t mind moving over to Chicago and giving music ago, and, this year, she did just that!

When she got to Chicago in July, she wasted absolutely no time getting things going. When we spoke to her, it was just about a week after she had landed in the Windy City and was getting settled in. “I landed on Friday and started gigging on Saturday,” laughs RACHEL, when talking to Post-Burnout via Zoom. “[The jetlag] hadn’t even worn off, yet!”

This is part of RACHEL’s plan to take a year out from teaching to give music all her time and attention. She explains, “I just felt like, when I was at home in Ireland and I was primary school teaching, I loved that, but I was always getting pulled towards music and shows and writing. That’s just where my main passion is.

“So, I decided that, ‘Well, I’ve always wanted to move to America, anyways, but if I’m going to do that, I’m going to follow my heart with music, as well,’  because I just feel like there’s so many opportunities here in America, that I could go teaching, but I might as well do something different and come back to teaching when I’m at home in Ireland.”

Part of the decision was also fuelled by RACHEL’s want to see her brother, who had been living there since 2023. “Last year, both of us came to Chicago for the summer,” RACHEL says. “He came over here in May, and I came over here in July, and we both have U.S. citizenship through our mom, so that’s why we’re so lucky to be able to stay here and work here.

“But he had a plan to come home to Ireland at the end of summer, and that never happened; he stayed, ever since last May. So, when I got to see him, last week at the airport, that was the first time that I had seen him in six months, because he was home at Christmas. But, yeah, it’s great that we can be together now, and we’re going to be living together come August.”

Already RACHEL is inspired by the city’s scene. “It’s really exciting over here,” she says. “Musicians are very open to connecting with each other here, as in I could walk into a bar here and get talking to a guitarist or a bassist or a drummer who might want you to do female lead in their band for another gig.

“There are so many spots. Like, you only have to walk five meters and you’re onto a new bar or a new music spot, and you can hear the music on the streets, when you’re in Downtown Chicago, from all the different bars, and I just love that, that no matter where you go, you’re always going to find something.

“And there’s so many different genres here, too. Like, jazz is a big one over here. A little bit like Ireland, you have a lot of buskers on the street, as well. In Downtown, wherever you’re going, you’re always going to hear jazz music or pop music. I just love how open they are to all different genres of music here, and it’s exciting to be able to get to work with people of different backgrounds and cultures and experiences, and learn more about their music, too, and bring my own, Irish experience to it, as well.”

Indeed, RACHEL envisions the sounds she is exposed to whilst walking around seeping into her music. “I feel like I am already being influenced by the different sounds that I’m hearing and, also, just getting to work with different people,” she says. “So, I did have a songwriting session within a couple of days of moving over here, based on inspiration from even just the last couple of days.

“And that’s working with another Irish artist, as well – Chris O’Shea – who’s supported me a couple of times in Ireland. So, he’s over here; he might do a couple of gigs with me out here, as well. But we had a session together and it went really well, and I feel like we are getting influenced by the sounds around us.”

While RACHEL has been focusing on performing in the city’s Irish bars as she gets her bearings, we asked her if – given her electropop structure – she felt that American audiences were accepting of a wider range of what could be classified as “Irish music.” 

“It depends on the bar that you go to,” RACHEL responded. “I mean, I’m gigging in a bar called Celtic Crossing at the moment, and I also gigged in it last summer, and the songs that people request are the typical ‘Grace’ and ‘Raglan Road,’ and I have no problem playing those because I really like playing them, as well.

“But I also get a lot of requests to do just pop music, too. I think that they’re open to the idea that it’s not all going to be Irish traditional music for three hours straight in a bar. It’s important to play to the crowd, too. You know, if I’ve got young people in there then we’ll probably do a lot of pop songs, too, with Irish influences and stuff. But it’s really up to myself, and I try to take as many requests as I can throughout the night, but I think they are open to it, yeah.”

While the opportunities that Chicago affords RACHEL are plentiful, she does admit that it was somewhat daunting to move as she was finding success and consistency in Ireland. “I was really, really sad to have to leave something that I felt was going in a good direction with my group and with my band, at home,” RACHEL says. “Like, I would do ten more shows with them, if I could, before I left. They’re a great, great group of people.

“So, it is difficult in that sense, because I feel like I am starting completely fresh over here, and I don’t know anybody. But, with that, I feel like you could look at it as it’s really exciting, too, because you just never know who you’re going to meet over here, and I have said to my band at home, any of them that want to come over when I have my gigs set up, properly, over here, that they could maybe gig over here, too!”

RACHEL feels that her move is the beginning of the next chapter of her career, which is being earmarked by her latest single, “We Didn’t Call It Love,” which was released today. “It’s kind of about having doubt in a relationship and, maybe, not feeling like you want to admit your feelings to somebody,” RACHEL says of the song.

“It talks about a lot of the doubts that are in that and the struggles with that, but, ultimately, I feel all of my songs are heartbreaker songs, with a happier upbeat, and I feel like this song is so energetic that it almost washes out the deeper meaning of the song. [Laughs] So, it’s distracting from the fact that it might be more of a sad song. So, I’m excited for this one. I feel like it’s very different to what I’ve released before.”

When we asked RACHEL if her move influenced any of the song’s lyrics, she responded, “You’ve hit the nail on the head with that one, actually. Moving country has been on my mind for the last year, so it’s kind of seeped into my writing a lot, and it’s not just me who’s moving away [Laughs] at the moment; I feel like a lot of people my age are going through that.

“And I was trying to think of a theme that would suit best for people in their twenties. You know, relationships can be difficult to navigate when people want to do different things and go different places. The world is really small and there is hope for people to still stay in contact when they’re away, but it is that little bit more difficult, and a fear that you might lose somebody during that time is kind of a theme to put over something that’s supposed to be a really exciting step in your life.”

RACHEL feels that living in Chicago gives her a new opportunity to write daring music, free of scrutiny. “I feel like you have a little bit more freedom over here,” she says. “I mean, nobody knows who I am here. [Laughs] You know? They don’t know my story, they don’t know who I know, or what my relationships have been or are like. So, it’s definitely more freeing, I think.”

With this new chapter officially beginning, RACHEL says that she has a mountain of older songs that she had written, but whose fate she’s now uncertain of, due to changing feelings and situations from their inception. With that, we asked her how she felt about performing the songs she had written during this time, which she had released and made up her catalogue.

RACHEL responded, “I wrote the songs, so, obviously, I’m going to relate to them or remember that time, but I’m kind of the type of person that can accept that that’s where I was at that time, and I’m always worried that people think that I still feel that way about a certain situation or that you just feel like, maybe, a crowd aren’t going to be receptive to the fact that I don’t feel like that, anymore.

“I suppose every musician feels like that about their older music, but I really feel like, since my first release to where I am now, you can see the maturity and how I’ve grown over the last couple of years. In my relationships with people, too. I feel like my songs are really reflective of how things have matured and, maybe, how I view myself, as well.”

For now, RACHEL plans on focusing on growing her presence in the Chicago music scene, but would, at some point, like to venture out and further explore the U.S., especially Nashville. RACHEL is currently doing promotional material for “We Didn’t Call It Love” in the States, and an accompanying music video for the song will be released soon, so be sure to keep your ear to the ground to find out more.

RACHEL’s latest single, “We Didn’t Call It Love,” is on all streaming platforms from today. You can keep up to date with RACHEL’s music, live dates and social media accounts through her Linktree.

Tune into POSTBURNOUT.COM Interviews…today at 19:00 (IST) to hear this interview in full, where we go into further detail about everything discussed, as well as RACHEL’s going away show at Whelan’s Upstairs, working with producer Stuart Gray on her latest track, incorporating new sounds as her vision grows, and much more. Available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music Podcasts.

Aaron Kavanagh

Aaron Kavanagh is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Post-Burnout. His writing can also be found in the Irish Daily Star, Buzz.ie, Totally Dublin, The GOO, Headstuff, New Noise Magazine, XS Noize, DSCVRD and more.