Rachel Sumner and Traveling Light

Show Description:

Lennon Award Winning Songwriter Rachel Sumner returns to the Big Hall with her string band Traveling Light (fiddle, guitar, bass). This acoustic trio packs a mighty sound, bringing their bluegrass roots to the tightly crafted original songs written by Sumner. The result? Songs as sweet and biting as the nectar and venom you'll hear in Sumner's haunting voice.

Sunday, March 10th

Show starts in the Big Hall: 3 pm

Doors open: 1 pm

Free Parking: behind the sales office - 181 Kenwood Ave, Oneida NY

Ticket price: $20 in advance, $25 at the door

Prefer to purchase your tickets on Eventbrite? click here

Self-guided museum tours complimentary with show admission

Coffee & cookies in the Lounge sponsored by Oneida Performing Arts!

Questions? email hospitality@oneidacommunity.org

Bio:

With songs as sweet and biting as the nectar and venom in her voice, Rachel Sumner has been captivating audiences throughout the northeast with her exciting new band Traveling Light. While their instrumentation and textures show roots deep in bluegrass and traditional folk music, Sumner's lyric-forward writing and penchant for snaking chord progressions demand something beyond folk conventions, highlighting the acrobatic range of her brilliant bandmates Kat Wallace (fiddle/harmonies) and Mike Siegel (upright bass).  Sumner is no stranger to the stage. She spent her early career on the bluegrass circuit, singing and writing with the genre-bending Boston group Twisted Pine. Since setting out on her own, Sumner's songs have been critically acclaimed, winning the Lennon Award in the folk category of the 2021 John Lennon Songwriting Contest for her song "Radium Girls (Curie Eleison);" earning her a spot in the Kerrville New Folk Competition; and being chosen three consecutive years by WBUR/NPR as one of the top Massachusetts entries in the Tiny Desk Competition. Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light released their debut LP in the summer of 2022 to acclaim; Americana Highways says, "Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light shine bright on new album."  Originally a classical flutist from the dusty Mojave desert, Sumner relocated from California to Boston a decade ago intending to study Composition and Film Scoring at Berklee College of Music. While at school, she found herself in the orbit of roots musicians like Molly Tuttle, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, and John Mailander who introduced her to a trove of traditional music, started her off with a few chords on the guitar, and encouraged her to write her own songs. In the short time since, Rachel has become one of the most vital voices in Boston's thriving roots music scene.