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Delta Rae

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Delta Rae
Background information
OriginDurham, North Carolina, United States
GenresBlues rock, country rock, folk rock, roots rock
Years active2009–present
LabelsValory Music Co., Sire/Warner Bros.
MembersGrant Emerson
Elizabeth Hopkins
Brittany Hölljes
Eric Hölljes[1]
Ian Hölljes
Mike McKee
Websitehttp://www.deltarae.com

Delta Rae (/reɪ/ RAY) is an American folk rock band formed in Durham, North Carolina.[2] The band consists of three siblings Ian Hölljes (vocals and guitar), Eric Hölljes (vocals, guitar, piano and keys) and Brittany Hölljes (vocals), as well as Elizabeth Hopkins (vocals), Mike McKee (percussion) and Grant Emerson (bass guitar). The band feels that they do not fit into a single musical genre, but have described their sound as "gospel-tinged country-rock, sensual blue-eyed soul and harmony-laden Americana."[3]

History

[edit]

Hölljes siblings

[edit]

Three of the members of Delta Rae are siblings and members of the Hölljes family. They grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area where their parents instilled in them a love of music, reading, and education.[4]

Ian and Eric Hölljes began writing music together when they were 12 and 10 years old, respectively.[5] The two of them write most of the songs for Delta Rae's music today.[6]

The siblings grew up hearing stories of folklore, mythology, and mysticism from their mother, a Montessori school teacher.[7] She would read Greek mythology to them and often make up melodies and music to accompany the stories.[5] The band's name hails from a fictional story the Hölljes' mother wrote about a Southern girl named Delta Rae who summons the Greek gods to earth.[8] Their mother is currently writing a book about this southern heroine.[7]

The three Hölljes siblings joined a teen a cappella group as middle schoolers in San Rafael, California, called 'Til Dawn where they learned both how to write musical arrangements and how to sing as a group.[9] In this a cappella group, they also met and became friends with their future Delta Rae bandmate, Elizabeth Hopkins.[5]

Band formation

[edit]

The band debuted at Duke University in October 2009. Ian graduated from Duke in 2007; Eric graduated from Duke in 2009.[10] After Brittany graduated early from University of California, Berkeley, also in 2009,[10] and Liz had graduated from Fordham University,[9] the band members all moved into a big house in the woods in Durham, North Carolina, and officially became a band in September 2009.[11]

In 2010, the band added Mike McKee, who graduated from Campbell University,[12] and Grant Emerson, who graduated from University of North Carolina Wilmington.[13] The 6-person formation is still in place today.

Career

[edit]

Their self-titled debut EP was released in 2010,[14] after which they signed to Sire Records in 2012.[15][16] Their debut album Carry the Fire was released on June 19, 2012.[17] It included the singles "Morning Comes", "Dance in the Graveyards" and "Bottom of the River" which received airplay on VH1.

On November 19, 2013, they released the EP Chasing Twisters which included a new version of their single "If I Loved You" featuring Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham.[18] Delta Rae toured in support of this release for much of 2014, including a set at Lollapalooza.[19]

The band performed with other musicians at the 29th annual Farm Aid event, which was held on September 13, 2014, at Walnut Creek Amphitheatre in Raleigh, North Carolina.[20][21]

Delta Rae released their second album After It All on April 7, 2015.[22] It was preceded by the single "Scared" in addition to an East Coast tour.[23]

In April 2015, they played their first Australian dates as part of the Byron Bay Bluesfest, which included Counting Crows and Jurassic 5.

The band relocated to Nashville and signed with Big Machine Label Group in February 2017 after a personnel shake-up at Warner.[24] They quickly followed up with a couple of EP releases, A Long and Happy Life and The Blackbird Sessions.

From September through December 2018, they held a weekly residency in Nashville.[25] Cheap Trick performed on the opening night.[26]

In July 2019, Delta Rae announced they would be leaving Big Machine and a Kickstarter campaign was launched for a double album project - The Light and The Dark.[27] The campaign passed the $30,000 goal immediately, making $60,000 within the first hour the campaign was live.[28] It gained a significant boost as Taylor Swift's fans reacted to her comments on the Big Machine buyout.[29] The overwhelming response raised over fifteen times the original goal and saw them become the fifth biggest music Kickstarter campaign.[30] The first installment of the Kickstarter, titled The Light, was released on March 20, 2020.

Eric Holljes has worked as a producer on other projects, including the upcoming album from Carrie Welling entitled High Heels and Heavy Things. Welling was scheduled to be part of Delta Rae's 2020 tour, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Dark, a sister album to The Light, was released in 2021.

Discography

[edit]

Studio albums

[edit]
Title Details Peak chart positions Sales
US
[31] 		US Sales

[32]

US Heat
[33] 		US Folk
[34]
Carry the Fire
  • Release date: June 15, 2012
  • Label: Sire Records, Warner Bros. Records
  • Formats: CD, Music Download
 — 192 11 13
After It All
  • Release date: April 7, 2015
  • Label: Sire Records, Warner Bros. Records
  • Formats: CD, Vinyl, Music Download
 152 76 3 10
The Light
  • Release date: March 20, 2020
  • Label: Independent
  • Formats: CD, Vinyl, Music Download
 — 45 — —
The Dark
  • Release date: March 19, 2021
  • Label: Independent
  • Formats: CD, Vinyl, Music Download
 — 25 10 23
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Live albums

[edit]
Title Details
Live at Lincoln Theatre
  • Release date: January 20, 2012
  • Label: Self-Released
  • Formats: Music Download

Extended plays

[edit]
Title Details Peak chart positions Sales
US Heat
[33]
Delta Rae
  • Release date: May 19, 2010
  • Label: Self-Released
  • Formats: CD
 —
Chasing Twisters
  • Release date: November 15, 2013
  • Label: Sire Records, Warner Bros. Records
  • Formats: CD, Vinyl, Music Download
 8
A Long And Happy Life
  • Release date: March 25, 2017
  • Label: The Valory Music Co.
  • Formats: CD, Music Download
 24
The Blackbird Sessions
  • Release date: December 15, 2017
  • Label: The Valory Music Co.
  • Formats: Music Download
 —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Singles

[edit]
Year Single Peak chart positions Album
US AAA[32]
2012 "Bottom of the River" — Carry the Fire
2013 "If I Loved You" (featuring Lindsay Buckingham) 5
"Run" — Chasing Twisters
2015 "Scared" — After It All
2017 "A Long And Happy Life" — A Long And Happy Life [EP]
"No Peace In Quiet" —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Videography

[edit]
Year Title Director
2011 "Bottom of the River" Lawrence Chen
2012 "Morning Comes" Martin Roe
"Dance in the Graveyards" Dirty Robber
2013 "If I Loved You" Justin Coloma
2015 "Scared" LAW
2017 "A Long And Happy Life" David McClister
2018 "Do You Ever Dream?" Lawrence Chen
2018 "Hands Dirty" Eric Hölljes and Delta Rae
2020 "All Good People" Delta Rae
2021 "No One Will Miss Me" LAW

Guest appearances

[edit]
Year Title Artist
2020 "Stand-Ins" Carrie Welling

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Delta Rae - Eric Hölljes Taking Us To Church Archived 2015-04-14 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved Apr. 9, 2015.
  2. ^ Williams, Erin (January 23, 2012). "Delta Rae on witch trials and keeping music in the family", The Washington Post. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
  3. ^ Yahr, Emily (July 3, 2019). "Meet Delta Rae, the indie band unexpectedly launched to fame by the Taylor Swift-Scooter Braun feud". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  4. ^ Jon Ferguson (July 12, 2012). "Delta Rae: An education in harmony". LancasterOnline.com. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Blair, Elizabeth (October 3, 2012). "Delta Rae: Modern Folklore Music". Wbur.org. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  6. ^ McKinney, Kelsey (April 25, 2015). "Americana band Delta Rae have 4 vocalists and an enormous sound". Vox. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Interview: Delta Rae's Ian Hölljes on the Band's Witchy Ways & New Album 'The Light'". Atwood Magazine. February 19, 2020. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  8. ^ Fichera, Dawn Marie. "antiMusic.com: Delta Rae Interview". antiMusic. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Delta rising". Waltermagazine.com. September 30, 2013. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Ian Holljes '07 and Eric Holljes '09". Duke Magazine. November 30, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  11. ^ "5 Questions: Delta Rae's Liz Hopkins". The Daily Tar Heel. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  12. ^ Rogers, Isabella (March 22, 2021). "Orange Owned Spotlight: Drum Team Collective". Campbell University Blog. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  13. ^ "UNCW grad plays bass in rising act Delta Rae". Star News Online. Archived from the original on August 2, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  14. ^ Melzer, Ashley (June 9, 2010). "Delta Rae's self-titled debut". INDY Week. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  15. ^ Lawrence, Jordan (February 3, 2012). "Durham's Delta Rae signs to Sire Records Archived 2015-01-13 at the Wayback Machine", Indy Week. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
  16. ^ Dickens, Tad (February 2, 2012). "Music all over the map", The Roanoke Times, p. 6.
  17. ^ "Mync.com". March 3, 2016. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  18. ^ "Archived copy". iTunes. Archived from the original on February 16, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. ^ "2014 Lineup | Lollapalooza 2014 | August 1-3, 2014 : Grant Park : Chicago, IL". Archived from the original on May 31, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  20. ^ "Farm Aid - Keep America Growing". Farmaid.org. Archived from the original on April 10, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  21. ^ "Delta Rae Live at Farm Aid - 2014-09-13 21:00:00". April 14, 2015. Archived from the original on April 14, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  22. ^ @DeltaRae (January 8, 2015). "NEW ALBUM. AFTER IT ALL. APRIL 7" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  23. ^ "NEW VIDEO! - Delta Rae Latest News". Archived from the original on April 13, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  24. ^ Nicholson, Jessica (February 3, 2017). "Valory Music Co. Signs Delta Rae". MusicRow. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  25. ^ "EXPERIENCE THE DELTA RAE REVIVAL THIS FALL". Bigmachinelabelgroup.com. July 17, 2018. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  26. ^ "Delta Rae Summons Folklore & Passion in Sold-Out First Night of Revival - the Country Note". Archived from the original on September 21, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  27. ^ "The Light & The Dark: Delta Rae's First Independent Release". Kickstarter.com. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  28. ^ Zimmerman, Lee (March 17, 2020). "Delta Rae Looks to 'The Light' To Find Their Way Forward". Americansongwriter.com. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  29. ^ Freeman, Jon (July 3, 2019). "How Taylor Swift Accidentally Helped Delta Rae Fund Their New Album". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  30. ^ Delta Rae (August 30, 2019). "$451,457 pledged. 1504% funded. 5,160 backers. 0 seconds to go. And so begins a new chapter for us all. You are the most brilliant, generous, magical partners we could ever imagine. We love you with all our hearts. Thank you". Twitter.com. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  31. ^ "Delta Rae Album & Song Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  32. ^ a b "Delta Rae". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  33. ^ a b "Delta Rae Album & Song Chart History - Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  34. ^ "Delta Rae Album & Song Chart History - Folk Albums". Billboard. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  35. ^ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015.
  36. ^ Bjorke, Matt (June 13, 2017). "Top 10 Country Albums Chart: June 12, 2017". Roughstock.
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