Coffeehouse Concert: Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light

The Camden Public Library is bringing back the Coffeehouse concert series in the Picker Room on Thursday, October 24, at 6:00 (Six O’Clock!) p.m. with Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light! There will be cozy refreshments to accompany this evening of indoor music. Free and open to all.

Fresh off their 2023 win at the Thomas Point Bluegrass Festival band competition, Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light are shaking up the bluegrass world with their fresh take on traditional music. Led by John Lennon Award-winning songwriter Sumner, the string band’s dynamic sound showcases bold chord progressions, unforgettable stories, and mesmerizing musicianship from fiddler Kat Wallace and bassist Mike Siegel. With their grassy roots, Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light create a sound that’s both timeless and utterly unique, captivating audiences with every note they play.

Though Sumner has roots in both the bluegrass and classical worlds, this is true-blue singer-songwriter folk through and through, too: achingly clear, and wide open to the world, with twang and tenderness enough to carry us through the fire of an unusually difficult year.

– Cover Lay Down

With songs as sweet and biting as the nectar and venom in her voice, Sumner’s lyric-forward writing and penchant for snaking chord progressions demand something far beyond folk conventions, highlighting the acrobatic range of her brilliant bandmates Kat Wallace (fiddle) 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 roots group Twisted Pine. Since setting out on her own, Sumner’s songs have been critically acclaimed: winning the 2021 John Lennon Award in the folk category for her song “Radium Girls (Curie Eleison);” earning a spot in the Kerrville New Folk Competition; and being chosen four consecutive years as one of the top Massachusetts entries in NPR’s Tiny Desk Competition. Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light released their debut LP in the summer of 2022 to critical acclaim.