It's been a whirlwind year for Rachael Lavelle so far, following the release of her Choice Prize-nominated debut album Big Dreams in November 2023. Nearly a year to the day of its release, the Dublin-born singer and composer will perform a hometown headliner at The Button Factory on 23 October 2024. Tickets start from €25.00 are go on sale this Friday 31st May at 10am, via Singular Artists.

While it may be her debut album, Lavelle is in no way new to the music scene. Starting from her Trinity College days to her postgraduate music studies and a residency in Lisbon, the songsmith has put in hard years, perfecting her artistry bit by bit. With inspirations ranging from Björk, Joni Mitchell and Beach House, to Debussy and Ravel, Lavelle has crafted a unique sonic and songwriting profile of her own.

Big Dreams is an existential coming-of-age album that chronicles the journey of a young woman searching for direction and meaning in a very strange world. Inspired by sounds of everyday life and an intriguing obsession with YouTube self-help videos, the album explores romance, directionless-ness, ambition and the expectations of the unsatisfied digital native. Big Dreams is an introspective journey that invites the listener to ask what it means to be alive in the 21st century.

Floating in a world that is at once full of irony and honesty, Rachael examines the essential things: sleeping, eating, work and the search for love, reimagining them in a dream-like musical landscape of luscious synths, manipulated vocals, cinematic sound design, strings, woodwind and electronic beats.

A wry sense of humour peppered throughout is glued together by the iconic voice of Doireann Ní Bhriain, the voice of the Luas transport system in Dublin.

Recorded in various locations between Ireland and Portugal, the album is the result of years of experimentation and destruction. Written and produced by Lavelle, it was created alongside long-time collaborator, multi-instrumentalist and co-producer Ryan Hargadon (moondiver, Anna Mieke, Kojaque) and engineer and co-producer Alex Borwick (Niamh Regan, Inni-K).

It’s seen the album receive a nomination for Ireland’s prestigious Choice Music Prize Album of the Year. Lavelle has also been tapped up to tour with breakthrough Irish trailblazers Lankum and CMAT, as well as taking part in the Sorcha Richardson curated ‘Imagining Ireland’ at The Barbican in London and National Concert Hall in Dublin alongside SOAK, Ye Vagabonds, Aby Coulibaly and more.

In the years prior to the release of her debut, Lavelle has also toured with the likes of Villagers and Anna B Savage. She’s also collaborated with a wide range of artists including Peter Broderick, Saint Sister and lent vocals to the aforementioned Villagers’ album Fever Dreams (via Domino Records).