Wildly original and beautifully human — Rachael Jean Harris has a voice that makes the everyday feel profound…
Liverpool singer-songwriter Rachael Jean Harris appears as part of the Yoko Ono Lennon Lunchtime Concert Series at Liverpool’s Tung Auditorium on Wednesday 22nd October 2025. Rachael has been described by BBC6 Music as “wildly original,” fusing folk, jazz, and progressive elements to carry listeners through evocative narratives. Long a devotee to the richness of language, poetic imagery, and human stories, she writes intuitively from what she calls an “inner compulsion” — often reaching into the lives of people on the margins, or meditating on our connections to nature, love, loss, and longing.
Her upcoming album Tethered to Nothing is due for release in Autumn 2025, and promises to carry forward her characteristic blend of imaginative lyricism, emotional depth, and sonic exploration. Steve Kinrade of Liverpool Noise had the opportunity to do a deep-dive into her creative process, discuss the stories she feels drawn to tell, and examine how she approaches live performance in a space as special as the Tung Auditorium. All in all, a special artist performing in a very special place…
You’re performing as part of the Yoko Ono Lennon Lunchtime Concert Series — what does it mean to you to be involved in a programme that’s about accessibility and cultural connection?
Yeah they’re great aims and I’m very happy to be involved. We all need access to the kinds of realms of being that keep us in touch with the depths and mystery of ourselves and others. That’s what art, amongst other things, invites us into. The Tung is a beautiful space too, it’s a dignifying space for those in it. There’s also something powerful about the communal experience of music in a specific time and place that helps us feel connected to others and part of something unique. Making these experiences available to as many people as possible is a wonderful and necessary thing.
Lunchtime concerts have a very different energy to evening gigs — does that change how you approach your performance or setlist? Or am I making a generalisation?
Hmmm, I haven’t had much experience of this so I’m a little curious to see how it feels… I’m not planning any particular changes; same set, same approach. Perhaps less wine, more coffee!?
The series is supported by Yoko Ono Lennon through her Spirit Foundation. Do you feel any resonance with Yoko’s ethos of creativity, experimentation, or activism?
I spent a bit of time with her Grapefruit book when I was studying for a masters and doing a module in experimental music. It struck me how fertile and expansive and childlike her imagination is — bold and bonkers! She has this beautifully open playfulness in interacting with the concrete world around her. In one of her voice pieces she invites the performer to scream against the wind, a wall and the sky.
Just thinking about doing it sort of cracks me open a bit. It’s a seemingly mad exercise that, when you start to think about it, is really profound and might actually do many of us a world of good (haha) if only we’d dare! It’s that subtle (or not so) challenge to question and interact in ways that go beyond our self-imposed horizons. She inspires me to be courageous in my work.
What can audiences expect from your Tung concert — will it be a preview of songs from Tethered to Nothing, or a journey through your past work as well?
Yes, a little journeying through some past work and into songs from the new record.
Your music often carries powerful narratives. How do you choose which stories to bring to a live performance like this one?
I usually approach the set list with a few things in mind; what’s going to work well with the players I’ve got for the show (who are incredible by the way!), which songs are resonating strongly with me at the moment, how can I bring a set that gives a good sense of who I am as a musician for new listeners, and also, given I’ve got a new album in the pipeline, playing some songs to showcase that. I do try to group the themes of songs together so we can sit with the images for a time before moving onto a new scene. We’re going to start in a prison cell in Carson City, Nevada and end flying over the North Atlantic ocean with Fulmars.
We have mentioned your new album, Tethered to Nothing. Can you share anything about the writing and recording process? When are you hoping it will be released?
As soon as possible! But there have been a few delays so I don’t have a date yet — I hope before the year is out. The album has been a long time coming and honestly it’s been a real challenge on many levels to get it done. Some of the themes on the record include the lives of birds, the imagination, death, God, desire. The album was ignited by getting to know a common buzzard that hung about near the roundabout at Bidston Moss.
I do a lot of lyric work first generally. Building pages of ideas from research. Observing, reading, meditating on it all. When it comes to sitting at the piano or guitar, I try to get into an imaginative space where I can be as brave as possible, get out to the edges of my ability. It’s messy, instinctive and experimental; I make up chords, I thrash around, try to steer away from the safe places. I don’t often know the theory of what I’m doing with the music but I get into a flow and with a bit of luck, something takes shape. I do what feels good and true and exciting.
The Yoko Ono Lunchtime Concert Series is aimed at both students and the wider community. How important is it to you to play in spaces that welcome listeners who may not usually attend gigs?
Yes of course, any programme aiming to turn people on to live music is a great thing — live music does you good! It’s raw and real, can be visceral, challenging, and give solace and refuge. It’s an important counter to our increasingly atomised, digitalised existence.
Finally, what excites you most about sharing your music in this particular moment, at this particular venue?
I’ve just found out that the gig is sold out. This has never happened to me in 23 years of gigging (!), so that’s really cool. I’m mostly looking forward to being in the room with everyone, interacting with the band (Jamie, Craig and Brad) and us all being in the music together. It’s such a privilege to do that work, providing that context where something beautiful and exciting could happen and for human connection. I can’t wait to share that with everyone!
Rachael Jean Harris
Wednesday 22 October, 13:00
Liverpool Tung Auditorium
Tickets
