Not many 17 year-old’s can say that by the time they turn 18 they will have opened tours for Jason Aldean and Brantley Gilbert, played the Grand Ole Opry, and have had a top added single on Country Radio the week it was released; but those are just some of the many accomplishments talented country artist Rachel Farley has. I’d say she was a newcomer, but it wouldn’t be quite true. Rachel started playing shows when she was 12 and by the time she was 13, she was opening for Brantley Gilbert. Then this past year, she opened the Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan tour. Her single, “Ain’t Easy,” has been gaining major traction on radio and, chances are, you’ve probably heard it by now. On March 15th, Rachel will make her Opry debut and couldn’t be more excited. We chatted about the music, touring, and being so young yet having a career already worked out.
Arin: What got you into music and how did this all come about for you?
Rachel: I never really thought about doing anything else. My whole life, I’d always done music and loved music, and it was kind of my first and only option for myself. I started gigging. I always sang everywhere I had a chance to, and then when I was 12, I played my first gig which was just me and my guitar. I got through it; it was pretty brutal for a first gig. We ended up booking like a two hour gig; we booked it six months out. I had just picked up a guitar and we booked it and didn’t realize how long of a set two hours is, and [I] ended up playing the same set twice and running everybody out because it was terrible. The next year, I kind of took off from there and played 100 gigs every year from the first year on, just playing everywhere – everywhere that would have me. When I was 13, Brantley Gilbert asked me to come out on the road with him, and I went out opening for him acoustic for about two and a half years and just played – all the time.
A: You’re only 17 and most people your age are finishing up senior year in high school, so what’s it like to already have this whole career?
R: It’s great, and I feel really blessed to have the opportunity to go ahead and have my career set out and the opportunities to make that happen already. It’s such a blessing and we’ve been working hard for this. I obviously started young, but I’ve been going at it for a long time and it’s so much a part of me and [it’s] the only thing I wanna spend my life doing; and so to already have that option is fantastic.
A: Social media is obviously the thing for people our age, but it’s also huge for music in general; so how do you keep in touch with everyone?
R: Yeah, I love the whole social media thing because it’s so easy to stay in touch with everybody; and really connect with your fans; and find out what they’re digging, what they like, and just communicating with people. You end up having fans that have been on there for a long time and they come to shows and you know exactly who they are, and it’s just such an easier way to build relationships with people.
A: Now that the single is out and radio is taking off for you, what comes next?
R: Right now, we’ve got a lot of shows coming up [and] a lot of radio shows. We’ve got some fun gigs with my friends from Florida, Georgia Line, coming up. [It’s] just gonna be a busy year and, of course, we’re hoping for a tour as soon as possible. We’d love to get back out there. We were out with Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan last year for the My Kinda Party Tour, and it was just such an incredible experience; and so we’re hoping to get back out on another tour this year, but we’ll see what happens.
A: When it comes to writing songs, how does the process work for you?
R: I love it; I love writing. I write everything; everything on my album I wrote. I love to co-write as much as I love to write by myself, but five of the songs on my album including the single, ‘Ain’t Easy,’ I actually wrote on my own. I just love the whole creative process and everything about it. Just getting to vent through songs, it’s fantastic. Then, you take those songs and they’re your babies; and you take them in the studio, and get to watch just amazing musicians play ‘em and turn them into what you heard in your head and make them really come to life. That’s just a fun thing to watch happen and make happen, and the entire process of writing and creating and watching the whole thing come to life is a lot of fun.
A: In general, are there any specific goals you have with music?
R: I have so many; this is just what I want to spend my life doing. There are so many places I want to play, so many goals I can reach, so many experiences I’d love to have. One that has always been a big thing for me that I never expected to accomplish this early is playing the Grand Ole Opry. That’s huge, and I actually got a phone call two days after we released the single that they really want me to make my Opry debut. So, March 15th, I’m making my Grand Ole Opry debut which is huge. I’m just so honored I get to have that experience.