Austin-based singer/songwriter Taylor Rae unveiled today her new single ‘Telluride‘ featuring a guest appearance by Grammy-nominated artist Sierra Hull.
The latest to release off her new album The Void (due out April 18, 2025), the track arrives on the heels of her debut at SXSW, which prompted NPR Music to name her to their Best of SXSW 2025 list and Austin Monthly to feature her as a Must-See Local Artist at SXSW 2025.
With a bluegrass-tinge and steady groove, ‘Telluride’ is a windows-down, road-wary anthem that calls to mind the likes of Pettyâs ‘Mary Janeâs Last Dance’ or Zeppelinâs ‘Going to California’. It was featured on Relix who raved ââTellurideâ is easy listening and an ideal track for a journey on the road or of the heart.â
“I should start by saying that I have never been to Telluride,â stated Rae. âI have, however, been to just about every other corner of that state, and have driven through the Southwest Region of the United States countless times. This song seed came while on a radio tour through Colorado, which ended right before the weekend of Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and I remember feeling so bummed that I wasn’t attending. Feeling left out, behind in life, and alone, I drove myself back home to Austin and finished the bulk of the song in the driver’s seat. Living life on the road allows much time for contemplation, processing, and accepting. It can be addicting because of this, referenced in the line ‘time stands still on the road.’ Who wouldnât be addicted to time standing still? For that reason, it gets overwhelming coming off the road. Things seem to move at a lightning speed making it hard for someone like me, who has a hard time with transitions, to ride the wave.â
She continued, âWhen I met Sierra, I immediately dreamt of her contributing to this song. Before the song was even finished, before recording this album was even in my head, I knew I wanted her to be a part of it. She brought this song to life, and I thought with the bluegrass/Telluride reference, it would just make so much sense to have the mandolin queen herself grace our presence.”
âTaylor Rae is one of my favorite voices on the scene today,â said Hull. âHer ability to tap into a deep-rooted, soulful groove and float with such ease is really inspiring to me. I was so excited she asked me to sing and play on âTelluride.â What a great song!â
‘Telluride’ follows the release of the lustful and longing ‘Cologne‘, which Magnet Magazine raved as âthe sort of bluesy sway Robert Plant and Alison Krauss lock into with their take on Randy Weeksâ âCanât Let Go,â from Lucinda Williamsâ Americana masterpiece, Car Wheels On A Gravel Road.â Lead single ‘Maybe Iâm The Villain‘ is also out now, a heavy-hitting alt-inspired juggernaut that Holler called âswampy country funkâ and âa bold statement of intent that sounds like All Saints recording with The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.”
Hailed by No Depression as “a singer fully in command of her vocal gifts and a songwriter who enfolds her lyric sensibility in haunting musical sketches,” Rae has spent years touring behind her career-launching debut, driving herself from show to show, watching America unfold outside the car windshield. While crisscrossing the country and playing over 200 gigs a year, including supporting artists such as Sierra Hull, Pokey LaFarge, The Head and the Heart, John Craigie, Band of Heathens, and The Brothers Comatose, she watched Mad Twenties become a national hit. The record wound up spending more than 30 weeks on the Americana Radio charts. No other independently-released album enjoyed a longer stay on the Americana charts.
Now with her sophomore release, Rae takes her eyes off the road and turns her attention inward. Filled with the most personal songs of her career, The Void is a sharply-written record that celebrates the contradictory and complementary parts of the human experience, exploring life’s dark corners â from breakups to intergenerational trauma â with a colorful mix of roadhouse roots-rock, modern-day folk, alternative music, blues, and analog Americana. Anchored by a songwriting style that explores the uncharted spaces between genres, she took inspiration from the roots of American music while also maintaining a modern edge.
Produced by Grammy-winner Eric Krasno (Soulive, Lettuce, Tedeschi Trucks Band) and recorded out of his studio in Pasadena, The Void is an immersive and wildly eclectic album that both confirms Rae’s status as an Americana A-lister as well as reaches far beyond the genre’s borders. It features songs that are vulnerable, self-examinations rooted in loss and heartbreak, while others are celebrations of new love. Together, they explore the contrasts that have filled Raeâs life of late: darkness and light, chaos and balance, closed doors and new beginnings. Some songs were built around live-in-the-studio performances that showcased her strength as a stage performer. Others were recorded layer by layer. The result is a stunning blend of cinematic slow-burners, self-empowerment anthems, raw stripped-down field recordings, bluegrass-inspired barn-burners, and even the occasional reggae rhythm.
“The main theme is introspection,” Rae continues. “The past four years have been such a trying time with constant change. Sometimes it felt like I was staring into the void, and I decided to document the moment by writing these songs.”
As the sound fades into the ether, we’re reminded that the road goes on forever, shuttling us from the past toward whatever future lies ahead. The Void is the soundtrack to that unending journey, whipped into existence by a singer/songwriter who’s dedicated to the long haul.