Rachel Ries

Raised in South Dakota by Mennonite missionaries, singer/songwriter Rachel Ries spent her formative years immersed in an unusual mix of Congolese spirituals, Mennonite hymns, and the popular Carpenters tunes of the day. Now based in Vermont, Ries made her recording debut in 2005, releasing For You Only, a charming set of soulful acoustic country-inspired folk songs. Two years later, she worked with veteran engineer Kris Poulin in Chicago on her jazzy, self-produced follow-up, Without a Bird, released on her newly launched label SoDak Records. A split EP with folksinger Anaïs M...