Rachel & Vilray - New album West of Broadway Out Now
STEPHEN COLBERT PERFORMS WITH THE DUO ON THE LATE SHOW
WATCH “OFF BROADWAY”
US TOUR INCLUDES NEWPORT JAZZ FESTIVAL AUG 1,
THE FORD IN LA OCT 26 & THE TOWN HALL IN NYC NOV 18
Rachael Price (also of Lake Street Dive) and guitarist/songwriter Vilray Bolles have released their third album West of Broadway (Concord Jazz), an exquisitely out-of-time vision of their beloved New York City, inspired by Vilray’s recent fascination with classic musicals.
Listen to West of Broadway here and watch the animated video for “Off Broadway,” featuring vocals by Stephen Colbert, who joined the band on The Late Show July 29. Check out the performance here.
Rachael & Vilray will kick off the album release today with a full-band set at Newport Jazz Festival (5:25pm on the Harbor Stage), followed by a US fall tour including The Ford in Los Angeles on October 26, and The Town Hall in New York City on November 18. Tickets are on sale now.
Since their formation in 2015, Brooklyn-based duo Rachael & Vilray have achieved a certain timeless quality with their singular take on traditional pop. Like all of the duo’s output to date—including their 2019 self-titled debut, hailed by NPR as “Tin Pan Alley meets the Lower East Side in a smoky bar,” and its 2023 follow-up I Love A Love Song!—the album finds Rachael & Vilray working with arranger Jacob Zimmerman and producer Dan Knobler.
Recorded at Sear Sound in New York City, West of Broadway features saxophonist Steve Wilson (Chick Corea’s Origin sextet) and drummer John Riley (Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie). “Instead of attempting to recreate a big band section with a smaller number of musicians, I wanted to get a little wild and slightly weird with the instrumentation and trust that it would make for an interesting record,” says Vilray, who composes all of Rachael & Vilray’s material.
“Going into the studio, there was a bit of a question as to whether we could bring together all these different elements that aren’t really connected, like West Coast jazz and Broadway musicals and all the crazy characters and flavors within the songs,” says Vilray. “But it showed us that even if the themes don’t feel unified at first, they’ll feel unified by the end—just as long as you’ve done your work, and you’ve got a room full of great musicians to knock the whole thing out of the park.”
“There’s so much imagery in the lyrics,” says Price. “I think a fun way to listen to the record would be to go for a walk and let the songs play out like a little movie in your mind.”
West of Broadway Track Listing
Forever Never Lasts
Is It Jim?
My Key to Gramercy Park
Lookin’ at You, I Forgot
The Stuff
Closer
Love Comes Around
Off Broadway (featuring Stephen Colbert)
To Change
Manhattan Serenade
Rachael & Vilray 2025 Tour Dates
Aug 1 Newport, RI Newport Jazz Festival
Oct 20 Vancouver, BC Hollywood Theatre
Oct 21 Seattle, WA Neptune Theatre
Oct 22 Portland, OR Revolution Hall
Oct 24 San Francisco, CA Bimbo’s 365 Club
Oct 25 Santa Cruz, CA Rio Theatre
Oct 26 Los Angeles, CA The Ford
Oct 27 Scottsdale, AZ Arizona Musicfest
Nov 7 Ann Arbor, MI The Ark
Nov 8 Evanston, IL Cahn Auditorium
Nov 9 St. Louis, MO Delmar Hall
Nov 11 Nashville, TN Riverside Revival
Nov 12 Cincinnati, OH Memorial Hall
Nov 14 Washington, DC Lincoln Theatre
Nov 15 Boston, MA Royale
Nov 18 New York, NY The Town Hall