Rachel Baiman

Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Rachel Baiman grew up in Oak Park, Illinois, where she trained early in American traditional music and at 17 won the Illinois fiddle championship. A singer, singer-songwriter and instrumentalist, she develops a repertoire that sits between country, americana, bluegrass and old-time, with songwriting that combines folk storytelling, a social perspective and melodic work centered on violin, banjo and acoustic guitar. She moved to Nashville at 18 to study at Vanderbilt University and subsequently became part of the city’s roots scene, pursuing both a solo career and collaborative projects, notably the fiddle duo 10 String Symphony with Christian Sedelmyer. Her discography includes Speakeasy Man (2014), Shame (2017) produced by Andrew Marlin, the EP Thanksgiving (2018), and the albums Cycles (2021) and Common Nation of Sorrow (2023). Rachel Baiman also founded Folk Fights Back, an organization of musicians built around benefit concerts and awareness-raising initiatives. In her songs and instrumental playing she links the heritage of string bands and American folk to a more contemporary, direct and restrained songwriting style.