Raechel Whitchurch Appears On TV & Discusses Performing For Jail Inmates
Whitchurch reflected on her upbringing and revisited a pivotal experience: performing for inmates at Broken Hill jail.
Raechel Whitchurch (Credit: Clancy Paine)
Raechel Whitchurch discussed her new album, What A Time To Be Alive, and one of its inspirations – her experiences performing for inmates in Broken Hill jail – on national television this morning (27 May).
Her new album was released on Friday (24 May), with her song Drink Until You’re Alright landing on Countrytown’s Country Hits playlist.
On her Instagram Stories, Whitchurch said after appearing on ABC News Breakfast this morning (which happened after a 5 am wake-up call), “Well, that was nice. They [presenters Michael Rowland and Lisa Millar] were such nice people. They were so kind, and they’d actually listened to my music, which I wasn’t expecting.”
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Whitchurch’s second album arrived with anticipation from the Australian country music community. The singer wrote the songs from 2020 through 2023. As she wrote the album, Whitchurch was facing uncertainty around her music career due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down the music industry for over two years.
She was also raising her one and three-year-old children with her husband in a tiny Sydney apartment, all while experiencing grief after losing an unborn baby and her grandmother. In addition to those raw stories, Whitchurch reflected on her upbringing and revisited a pivotal experience: performing for inmates at Broken Hill jail.
As Whitchurch was growing up, she accompanied her grandfather, a church minister, as he played music to inmates. While Whitchurch was writing for What A Time To Be Alive, she drove through Broken Hill on tour with Cold Chisel legend Ian Moss. On a day off, she and her husband sang for inmates in Broken Hill jail.
Whitchurch recalled in a statement, “It was really emotional. It was a day that evoked pain, suffering - and pure joy. I understand that pain can also manifest itself in joy. That was a day and a life experience that was meant to happen.”
That experience, along with Whitchurch's highs and lows over the last few years, influenced her second album.
“My first album [Finally Clear] was all hope and wonder and optimism,” Whitchurch said, adding that her debut was about “family, faith and finding myself.”
What A Time To Be Alive is “very much” the second chapter of those stories and finds Whitchurch examining “what happens after you find the courage to give something a shot, and what happens after that.”
You can buy/stream What A Time To Be Alive here.
RAECHEL WHITCHURCH
2024 TOUR DATES:
31 May – St James Theatre, Gore, New Zealand*
1 June – Kurow Memorial Hall, Kurow, New Zealand*
2 June – The Loons, Christchurch, New Zealand*
22 June – Frost and Fire, Forbes NSW
4 October – Deni Ute Muster, Deniliquin NSW
*supporting Fanny Lumsden
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