Skip to main content
Local News

Rachael and Vilray

BYU-Idaho Radio · An Interview with Jazz Duo Rachael and Vilray


Jazz music has two new artists with a new album.

Rachael and Vilray are a jazz duo with inspiration stemming from the best music of the 1930s and ’40s.

The duo initially met at The New England Conservatory of Music. After school, they went their separate ways, but sometime later, Rachael ended up going to one of Vilray’s performances.

At that point, Rachael said she had been meaning to get back into singing jazz music, so she suggested they perform together, and Vilray was right on board.

“I started playing again in my late 20s, and Rachael came to one of my early shows,” Vilray said. “She was looking to get back into singing jazz…she proposed that we start singing together, and that’s basically how it started.”

Vilray said they try to tell unique stories that haven’t been told before with music.

“There’s so many things in life that everybody knows about but never gets covered in song,” Vilray said. “It’s an opportunity…to write a song.”

One of the stories they tell in their first album was when Vilray’s ex-girlfriend maintained a relationship with his mother. The idea was if one relationship ends, why do connecting relationships also have to end?

Rachael and Vilray have had to put off live performances for the time being due to COVID-19, but they’re looking forward to when they can get back on stage.

The duo’s first album, simply named “Rachael and Vilray,” is now available on Apple Music, and Amazon Music, as well as Rachael and Vilray’s website.