Rachael Yamagata

Rachael Yamagata writes and performs her own piano-led songs, and the American singer-songwriter from Arlington, Virginia has built a career on a voice that moves easily between hush and force. Born to a Japanese-American father and an Italian mother, she cut her teeth in Chicago, and her guest turns on records by Jason Mraz, Ray LaMontagne and Bright Eyes have made her a familiar presence beyond her own catalogue.

She spent six years as vocalist for the Chicago group Bumpus before leaving in 2001 to go solo. In September 2002 she signed a two-record deal with Arista's Private Music, and her self-titled EP, produced by Malcolm Burn, came out that October. Her first full-length, Happenstance, followed in 2004, produced by John Alagía. She also featured on True Love by Toots and the Maytals, which won the 2004 Grammy for Best Reggae Album, and toured with Mandy Moore, contributing a song to Moore's 2007 album Wild Hope. Her second album, Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart, arrived in 2008, and Chesapeake followed through Frankenfish Records in 2011. Tightrope Walker followed on 23 September 2016, again through PledgeMusic.