North Carolina songwriter Rachel Gore is already making waves in 2023. Most recently, she was chosen as American Songwriter’s May/June 2022 Lyric Contest Winner by esteemed judges Scotty McCreery, Judy Stakee, and John DeNicola for her song “Ain’t No Wrong Way”, co-written with GRAMMY nominated bluegrass musician Thomm Jutz — and this is just the beginning for Gore this year.

Combining the intricacies of traditional folk music with indie sensibilities, Gore creates a wide musical landscape. She’s endlessly inspired by small towns, forgotten folk musicians, and the role that religion has played in her life. A child of the South, Gore is ready to peel back the layers of her upbringing and the place that she has always called home — with all of its baggage, backwardness, and “moral weirdness” as The Bitter Southerner calls it.

The daughter of a self-proclaimed Elvis impersonator, Gore grew up in a musical household. Before she could write herself, she would get her parents to transcribe lyrics as she sat and sang to them. Throughout high school, she became more serious about music and began posting original songs online, which gained traction quickly.

Gore moved to Nashville in 2017, eager to pursue music as she attended Belmont University for Songwriting. While there, she participated in Universal Music Publishing Group’s first annual UNEXT Songwriting Retreat, won the ASCAP Writer’s Night in December 2020, and realized her love for bluegrass and traditional music.

It wasn’t until the summer of 2020, amidst a pandemic, when Gore realized that her worldview was slowly changing. Life had paused rapidly. Through spending lots of time in nature, she realized that there was really one thing she knew how to write about well: her upbringing in the South. The simultaneous pull between pride and shame. The celebration of good music, good people, and good food, while also recognizing the work that has to be done.

Since then, Gore has written a body of work that she’s proud to share; not only with her fellow Southerners, but people of all backgrounds and walks of life.

Throughout 2022, Rachel Gore recorded her upcoming EP with the help of Americana icon Sarah Peacock.

“I’ve wanted to record an album for so long, and I’m so excited to see that dream come into fruition. I’ve scraped all my pennies together to make this collection and I think you’ll really be able to tell just how special this is to me when you hear it.”

Stay on the lookout for Rachel Gore’s upcoming EP — available soon.