Mayfly Album Launch
On November 5 Rachel Collis and her band will be launching her brand new double-disc album, Mayfly.
The much anticipated Mayfly is once again produced by ARIA and Emmy-award winning producer Sean Carey. Written during the 2020 and 2021 lockdowns, Rachel reminds listeners to appreciate stillness and to embrace living their most authentic life. Having battled with writer’s block for some years, the album offers the dynamic creativity and diversity of one who has regained their spark. It is oozing with life, emotion and energy, featuring everything from full orchestral arrangements, to jazz and blues, to traditional folk stylings, to Kate Bush-esque storytelling, to intimate piano and vocal ballads.
Sydney songstress Rachel Collis has been described by reviewers as no less than “prodigy”, “sheer genius” (Australian Stage) and “a welcome jolt back to the time of Joni Mitchell and Carole King” (The Orange Press). Rachel is good old-fashioned songwriting, combined with whirlwind virtuosic piano and Celtic-like vocals.
Rachel’s albums have grown her a dedicated fanbase in Australian, the UK, the US and Canada. Closer to home Rachel has performed to sell-out audiences at the prestigious Riverside Theatres, the Illawarra Folk Festival, the Hornsby and Ku-ring-gai Folk Club, the Newcastle and Hunter Valley Folk Club, The Shack, Eastern Lounge, The Acoustic Picnic, Foundry 616, Camelot Lounge, and at the Sydney and Adelaide Fringe Festivals. Her quirky and highly popular song “A Duck Named Sybil” was performed by Rachel at the Sydney Town Hall and the Sydney Opera House as part of the Arts Alive Concert Series in 2018.
Originally a classically trained pianist, Rachel is nothing short of a virtuoso. She was awarded a Masters of Music in Composition in 2012
Visit Rachel's web site.
“…sheer genius […] the versatility and prodigy of Collis’ songwriting.” - Lloyd Bradford Syke
“Each song unfolds surprisingly…always holding the audience in its grip… touching, thoughtful, satirical, ironic and downright hilarious.” - Theatre People
"...refreshingly funny... beautiful piano and the sort of voice that would stop a show..." - Heckler Read
"Not only does [Rachel] possess a linguistic gift, but a profound talent for storytelling, structure (melody, harmony, rhythm) and orchestration. She's a one-off; an original. She's Stephen Sondheim, Groucho Marx and Blossom Dearie. She's the Tower of Pisa. The smile on the Mona Lisa. She's the top." - Australian Stage
"...sheer genius. Imagine the love-child of a ménage à trois between, mmm, I don't know, maybe Sondheim, Midler & Minchin. You're getting close to the unpredictable versatility and prodigy of Collis' songwriting." - Australian Stage
"For this consummate entertainer it is not a challenge to connect complete strangers in the audience with honest, unconventional and humane humour..." - Megaphone Oz
"...all ages will relate to Rachel's emotional life stripped bare..." - Sydney Fringe
"SOMETIMES two heads are better than one. So it proves for siblings Dan and Hannah Acfield.” - Noel Mengel, The Courier Mail
“Naturally charismatic performers.” - Jeremy Millar, Beat Magazine
“There’s no denying the power of their sibling harmony and they have a striking ear for song crafting and instrumental arrangement.” - Rhythm Magazine
View full photo album of the concert.