SINGLES
Jessica Rhaye with Bill Preeper and Sandy MacKay (aka Preeper Rhaye MacKay) is a folk trio comprised of songbird Jessica Rhaye, guitarist Bill Preeper, and multi-instrumentalist Sandy MacKay. They began working together in the folk-rock band The Ramshackle Parade. This trio has developed a Maritime Appalachian Folk sound with a unique mix of acoustic and electric instrumentation. The singers deliver lush 3-part harmonies, weaving and sharing lead and harmony parts for their own compositions, along with simple, yet elegant arrangements. It's new folk music at its finest, pulling together inspiration from the likes of Woody Guthrie, Ian Tyson, and Bob Dylan. This group gets compared to a modern Peter Paul & Mary, creating an intricate vocal blend.
WOOD & WIRE, set for release October 25th, 2024, is Preeper Rhaye MacKay's first album as a trio. It’s a collection of new original works and includes a special cover from the Kate and Anna McGarrigle catalogue that helps define their provenance.
~ Press Reviews ~
WOOD & WIRE
“‘Rocky Hills’ showcases the timeless, ageless quality of Jessica Rhaye’s marvellous voice, the deceptively melancholic ‘Waltzing To Paradise’ has subtle vocal nods in the direction of Townes Van Zandt to my ears, before the understated, yet quietly expansive tones of ‘Red Rocks & Timothy’ completes the opening quartet of songs.”
““Stunning tune””
“Apparently the album was recorded ‘live off the floor’ on the Capitol Theatre Stage in Oxford, Nova Scotia, Canada, which makes the quality of the recording and musical virtuosity on display here even more impressive. Thoroughly recommended.”
Sunshine Baby
(2023)
1 - Sally
2 - Snakes and Ladders
3 - I Feel Fine
4 - Cold Love
5 - Come a Little Closer
6 - Sunshine Baby
7 - I Won’t Break
8 - An Apology
9 - Breathing In, Breathing Out
10 - Leave Me Wanting More
11 - Reaching Out To You
SINGLES
• ECMA 2024 Nomination - Group Recording of the Year
• ECMA 2024 Nomination - Fans’ Choice Video of the Year (Come A Little Closer)
• ECMA 2024 Nomination - Visual Artist of the Year
• Music NB 2024 Nomination - Recording of the Year
• Music NB 2024 WINNER - Video of the Year (Reaching Out To You)
• Music NB 2024 Nomination - Song of the Year (I Feel Fine)
With the release of Sunshine Baby, Jessica Rhaye’s second album with The Ramshackle Parade, the New Brunswick-based singer/songwriter expands her reach as a lyricist and vocalist with a set of alternately personal and observational songs that manage to be incredibly intimate and cinematic in scope simultaneously. While Rhaye illuminates the darker corners of her world on some tracks, the album’s lead single and title track makes it clear she’s never lost sight of the possibility for redemption and hope. The result is a beautiful and powerful album – one that telegraphs the joy and depth of connection Jessica Rhaye and The Ramshackle Parade have found in working together in equal measure.
~ Press Reviews ~
Sunshine Baby
““This album is not what I expected. I was prepared for a more acoustic Americana-type production, but this recording veers back and forth between AOR and soft country-tinged pop, reminding me, yes, of Dolly Parton in places, but mainly of Fleetwood Mac in their Nicks/Buckingham/Perfect incarnation. It’s splendidly produced, Jessica Rhaye has a strong supple voice showing off some major pitch jumps at times, and the band is great.””
“Rhaye’s vocal performance is excellent throughout, displaying great range and carefully managed changes in pitch and pace and volume. It’s especially captivating when her voice is intertwined with the contrasting backing vocal”
“Jessica Rhaye and her band of musical collaborators, the Ramshackle Parade, have struck gold. Not just through the success of their debut album, but as a group of players who compliment and elevate each other on stage.”
“Jessica Rhaye creates an intriguing, compelling performance much the same as the most dramatic moments of Kate Bush.”
“Sunshine Baby is just a wonderful album. Jessica’s music is beautiful and she is an artist you will definitely hear much more of on the late show.
”
““An Apology,” & “Breathing In, Breathing Out,” is Jessica Rhaye as Jessica Rhaye...exceptional ballads that establish Ms. Rhaye’s true style compared to no one. The arrow is in the center of the bullseye with these.”
“Rhaye has embraced that hybrid acoustic-electric sound…the rich instrumentation has potent and explosive moments throughout.”
Just like a woman
songs of bob dylan (2019)
1 - Ring Them Bells
2 - Sad Eyed Lady of the Low Lands
3 - As I Went Out One Morning
4 -I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine
5 - It's All Over Now Baby Blue
6 - One More Cup Of Coffee
7 - I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
8 - Blowin' In The Wind
9 - Lay Down Your Weary Tune
SINGLES
• ECMA 2021 Nomination - Group Recording of the Year
• Music NB 2020 Nomination - Recording of the Year
• Music NB 2020 Nomination - Live Act of the Year
• Music NB 2020 Nomination - Fans’ Choice of the Year
• Music NB 2020 Nomination - Video of the Year (Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands)
• Music NB 2020 WINNER - Visual Identity of the Year
*Their version of Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ in the Wind has generated millions of views on YouTube!
Just like a Woman - Songs of Bob Dylan is Jessica Rhaye’s sixth full-length album, and first with backing band The Ramshackle Parade. This rollicking folk-rock interpretation of Dylan's classics and hidden gems transcends the concept of a simple tribute album.
Just Like a Woman captures a hot mix of professionals performing live together - no click tracks and very few overdubs - true to the recording style of Dylan’s earlier work. With producer and multi-musician Dale Murray at the helm, it was free flow. All band members brought ideas to the floor. They imagined working in the style of Dylan in Woodstock, the days of the Basement Tapes and Big Pink, in the wake of the motorcycle crash.
The result is a fun folk-rock album with psychedelic undertones, with folk type ballads, a conversation between rockabilly and swing, and engaging new interpretations of the Master’s works.
~ Press Reviews ~
Just Like A WOman - Songs of Bob Dylan
“The modern folk trio offered their skills to the famed Dylan track (Blowin’ in the Wind) in this string-laden rendition. Rich with golden vocals, acoustics, and even a mandolin, Rhaye, and her group would make Baez and the rest of the ’60s decade proud with this heartfelt version.”
““Jessica Rhaye’s got a new collection of Bob Dylan reinterpretations coming out this fall, one of the best I’ve heard since Tim O’Brien’s excellent collection from back in the 90’s. I especially love to hear women’s voices singing Bob’s music—-there’s something about the female perspective that seems to complete the Dylan message, as if his songs are notes left in a bottle needing to crash on the siren’s rock before they can be fully released. Mavis Staples is one of those sirens, as is Joan Armatrading, and now, thankfully, Jessica Rhaye.””
““In a Stan-worthy move only the biggest Dylan diehard could pull, New Brunswick folk queen Rhaye has spliced, examined and re-assembled ol’ Bob’s songbook. The result? A collection of covers that attempts to emulate the legend’s Basement Tapes-era energy while seeing some of the best songs about women ever written showcased through a woman’s gaze.””
““Love what you did on the album. Especially love that you and the band did not simply recite the songs but interpreted them and made them your own””
““Nice work with the Dylan tunes, especially liked hearing Lay Down Your Weary Tune””
““I like it a lot. Very cool project.””
song in me
(2016)
1 - Crash and Burn
2 - Sun Will Shine For You
3 - Good To Be Alive In The Country
4 - My World
5 - Lovely Lady
6 - Time Will Only Heal Your Broken Heart
7 - Little You Little Me
8 - Song In Me
SPOTIFY // APPLE MUSIC // YOUTUBE MUSIC
• Music NB 2017 WINNER - Solo Recording of the Year
• Music NB 2017 Nomination - Folk Recording of the Year
• Music NB 2017 Nomination - Album of the Year
• Music NB 2017 Nomination - SOCAN Song of the Year (Song In Me)
*Co-writes: Matt Andersen, Matt Epp, Brent Mason
*COVER: Good To Be Alive In The Country - Ken Tobias
Song In Me is Jessica’s first collaboration with producer Dale Murray, who recorded its eight tracks in the living room of his country house in Oxford, Nova Scotia, to get the warm, live feel that Rhaye sought.
Inspired by the likes of John Denver and Ryan Adams, Jessica’s fifth full-length album shows the New Brunswick artist fully embracing her style. Unabashedly country on some tracks, she lets her rustic roots show as never before. Jessica, with her stunning vocals and lush melodies, has always moved easily between folk and Americana, but resisted the country label sometimes ascribed to her in the past.
Song In Me grew from a series of mellow Sunday-morning acoustic sessions with Chris Braydon, Jessica’s long-time guitarist, and Sandy MacKay, a celebrated singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, whose stand-up bass and playful spirit added a fresh element to the mix. The trio would meet weekly at her house, with its view over the Kennebecasis River and the woods beyond. The rural setting set the mood for a naturalist approach, and in the cozy confines of the threesome she felt encouraged to let her quirks - including idiosyncratic time signatures and unusual tempos - not just show but shine.
~ Press Reviews ~
Song In ME
““More than a collection of country love songs, the lyrics on ‘Song In Me’ take a turn towards social conscience and an awareness of what is going on in the world. Highly listenable, highlighting Rhaye’s pure voice, this album should garner some deserved attention.””
““Imagine wild camping, waking on a dewy morning, washing your face in a stream - that’s how this record makes you feel.””
““The eight track album is downright amazing. From narrative love songs to songs about breakups and how to get through them, Rhaye has a song for everyone.””
““With five beautiful releases now under her belt, Jessica Rhaye has certainly earned her place as one of New Brunswick’s finest contemporary songwriters. And as a champion for the sweet sounds of country influenced folk music that are all too often overlooked in this province, her work holds an important place within our shared music ecology.””
far gone lullabies (2013)
1. It Is All Right
2. On My Mind For A While
3. You Know Me Better
4. We'll Get By
5. Little Folk Song
6. Ice Flow
7. Waste A Little Time
8. Sleepwalk
9. Four Strong Winds
SPOTIFY // APPLE MUSIC // YOUTUBE MUSIC
• Music NB 2014 Nomination - SOCAN Song of the Year (You Know Me Better)
• Music NB 2014 Nomination - SOCAN Song of the Year (Little Folk Song)
• Music NB 2014 Nomination - Recording of the Year
*Co-writes: Royal Wood, Steve Poltz, Ron Sexsmith, Kevin Fox
*COVERS: Four Strong Winds - Ian Tyson; Ice Flow - Brent Mason
A deep sense of warmth and comfort permeates Far Gone Lullabies, the fourth album by Canadian singer-songwriter Jessica Rhaye.
The stunning collection showcases Jessica’s soaring, winsome vocals, as well as her versatile songwriting, including co-writes with Canadian indie staples, Ron Sexsmith and Royal Wood.
Confident, yet relaxed, Far Gone Lullabies is the work of an artist who has come into her own. Its nine tracks display a playful range, from the contemporary folk opener, It is All Right, to the closing cover of Four Strong Winds, Jessica’s bright, driving take on the Canadian songbook staple.
Folk-flavored, with threads of pop woven through, Far Gone Lullabies is Jessica’s third album produced and engineered by the award-winning duo of Ed Woodsworth and Jamie Foulds. It follows up her multi-award nominated Good Things (2010) and her sophomore release, Short Stories (2006), which saw her nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award for Contemporary Singer of the Year.
~ Press Reviews ~
Far Gone Lullabies
““The new album FAR GONE LULLABIES is simply beautiful; a captivating mix of acoustic country pop, thoughtfully arranged and intimately written.””
““Four Strong Winds is a song I wrote back in the early 60s… and it lives on today, all these years later. Jessica’s version of the song is sweet and she rocks it pretty good. She makes the song her own. I wish her much success...””
““Jessica Rhaye works the fertile folk/pop/country ground somewhere west of The Waifs and east of a young Cindy Church.””
Good Things
(2009)
1. Good Things
2. Shining Star
3. Rose Coloured Glasses
4. Maybe
5. Time Out
6. Weather Man
7. Wild Horses
8. Shadow Man
9. Holding Out
10. Everything for Love
11. Where's an Angel
SPOTIFY // APPLE MUSIC // YOUTUBE MUSIC
• SYNC PLACEMENT in Episode 306 of CBC TV’s Heartland - “Good Things”
• SYNC PLACEMENT in CMT’s reality TV series Unstable:
“Shadow Man”, “Time Out”, “Shining Star”, “Weather Man” & “Where’s An Angel”.
• Canadian Folk Music Award 2009 Nomination - Contemporary Singer of the Year
• ECMA Nomination 2010 - Female Recording of the Year
• ECMA Nomination 2010 - Folk Recording of the Year
• Music NB 2010 WINNER - Folk Recording of the Year
• Music NB 2010 WINNER - Female Artist of the Year
• Music NB 2010 WINNER - DVD of the Year
• Music NB 2010 WINNER - Visual Artist of the Year
*COVER: Wild Horses - Keith Richards
An organic singer/songwriter album that takes you on a trip back to the great singers and songwriters from your parents' record collection including Joan Baez, CSNY, John Denver, Melanie Safka and more; with a focus on simple and classic instrumentation such as stand-up bass, acoustic guitar, mandolin, and piano.
~ Press Reviews ~
Good Things
““Singer-songwriter Jessica Rhaye strikes gold with collaborations on Good Things.””
““It’s a strong, confident and simply that much better Jessica Rhaye on her new disc, Good Things.””
