The Lucky Smile is a sparkling recording centred around Rachel Hair’s pristine, beautifully detailed harp-playing, the tune selections by turns lively and emotionally expressive. The collection showcases the possibilities of this Celtic instrument in a thoroughly modern setting; Hair’s Starfish harp is surrounded on several tracks by acoustic guitar, double bass, drums and percussion, harmonium, Rhodes electric piano and fiddle, …

Talented Harpist Rachel gained numerous plaudits for her debut CD, ‘Hubcaps and Potholes’, and her second album – produced by Angus Lyon – looks set fair to build upon that success. Recorded in partnership with acoustic guitarist Paul Tracey and double bassist Andy Sharkey, the trio also perform here with singer Joy Dunlop, fiddler Graham McGeoch, percussionist Paul Jennings and …

Harpist Rachel Hair builds on her promising solo debut release, Hubcaps & Potholes, with this more expansive and subtly jazz-inflected disc. It is built around a basic trio featuring her harp, Andy Sharkey’s double bass and Paul Tracey’s guitar, with additional contributions from drummer Scott Mackay, percussionist Paul Jennings, producer Angus Lyon’s harmonium and Fender Rhodes, a solitary fiddle outing …

Following on from her assured and highly acclaimed debut, Hubcaps and Potholes, harpist Rachel Hair has now demonstrated a true coming of age. WIth much original material and some influences from Ireland, the Traditional music of Scotland is evident in terms of material and style, as in the pipe marches The Lochaber Gathering. Caution is sometimes needed when adding double …

Rachel Hair has that uncanny knack of picking just the right tunes to take her audience on a spectacular acoustic musical tour. For instance the highly syncopated opening track ‘Back Home’ which, given a great jazz feel propelled by her accompanying musicians Paul Tracey (Guitar), Angus Lyons (Keyboards), Andy Sharkey (Double Bass) and Scott Mackay on drums brings her into …

Rachel’s impressive debut album, Hubcaps & Potholes, explored the harp as a solo instrument, in a collection that showcased the instrument’s versatility, from its poised and delicate beauty, through to its enigmatic, expansive flourishes. For her second album, The Lucky Smile, Rachel showcases the harp, or clarsach as it is also known in her native Scotland, within a band setting, …

Scotland is producing a bumper crop of innovative harpists lately, and another one is Rachel Hair. Unbelievably—after all, we ARE talking harp here—she has a style all her own that is very, very tasty. The girl can play, and she is solid to the ground. She knows her music, all right. If you like harp, you’ll love this! Welcome to …