Meet Rachel Eisenstat | Musician, Songwriter & Voice Teacher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rachel Eisenstat and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rachel, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking

In my late teens and 20s, I was a very risk-averse person when it came to my career. Even though I’ve always been active in the music industry and it’s the only career I ever really envisioned for myself, I didn’t trust I could make it work without a backup plan. So I was a double major in college, got my masters in political science, and prioritized my Plan B career path for far too long while playing music on the side.

Eventually, I realized life is just about managing risk no matter what. We have all these measures in place to give us an illusion of security, like day jobs with steady pay and benefits. But in one day, you can be laid off and lose all your income, your healthcare if you had it at all, and all the aspects of your life you built around your day job. So that’s risky!

And then there’s the deeper spiritual risk you incur by ignoring what your soul desires for your life and spending all your time and energy on your Plan B. So I left my last day job in 2018, and I have never looked back. Life is risky! It’s just a matter of which risks you can tolerate. I decided ultimately that I’d rather manage the risks – and far greater rewards – that a music career can hold.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

Right now, I am most excited about and proud of Sugar Nova, my indie electronic dance duo with Luke Miller from Lotus. We started writing together during the pandemic when neither of us were playing other shows and life slowed down. We released our debut record in May 2023, and are in the middle of writing and producing our second album.

I think what sets Sugar Nova apart is that we are a hybrid electronic/live instrument act. We don’t fit neatly into the worlds of bands or EDM exactly. Luke is a DJ, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, and we incorporate live instruments into our music with produced beats. The vocals are a much more key part of what we do than a lot of electronic acts. We have more traditional lyrical structure than a lot of EDM, with verses, choruses, bridges, etc. Sometimes, we’re the most electronic act on a bill, sometimes we’re the only live musicians in a sea of DJs. I love living in that space.

Getting to where I’m at currently as an artist was not easy. Several years ago, I realized the only musicians in my life who were making their careers sustainable were laser-focused on making music. They limited distractions and spent a lot of time alone practicing, writing, honing their crafts. For me, music is a very social experience. It wasn’t obvious to me that I needed to learn to spend time with just myself to access some of my creativity. I am learning to say no to many of the events that can fill up the calendar, so that I can focus and get deep into a creative space.

At the same time, you need community to make music. I have been more intentional over the past few years about spending time with other artists – musicians as well as other creatives.. I was part of a songwriting circle for a while, and worked through The Artist’s Way book over several months with a group of other artists (writers, musicians, filmmakers, and graphic designers). That helped energize and focus me during the time I spent alone writing and practicing.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

Denver is such an exciting city! I’ve lived here for 16 years, and it’s always changing.

I always take visiting friends to Red Rocks – ideally a show, but it’s also fun to just hike around up there. Linger’s rooftop is great for a special dinner out, and south Federal has dozens of great taco spots. For drinks, I love La Doña Mezcaleria because I am a mezcal junkie. Cheesman Park is my favorite outdoor spot in the city to take visitors…basically because there are no geese there, haha. But also because I just love the vibrancy of Cap Hill and the neighborhoods around there. I also love taking friends to catch a Denver band at the Hi Dive or Lost Lake.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

I have, for my entire life, had the unwavering support and encouragement of my family to pursue my career in music. My parents, brother & sister-in-law, and partner are all creative people as well, and it’s impossible to overstate how important their belief in my art has been. Like many artists, I’m full of self-doubt. Without their encouragement, I wouldn’t be creating music.

My parents exposed my brother and me to a lot of live music growing up. We didn’t have a bedtime on nights we were seeing shows! So I got to know some local musicians when I was a kid, and they taught me to use a mic, harmonize, develop my ear to hear chords and grooves, and get comfortable on stage. Many of them are still in my life decades later.

Website: https://www.stagenative.com (voice studio) and https://sugarnovamusic.com (music)

Instagram: @ravenjanesings and @sugarnovamusic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SugarNovaMusic/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sugarnova2123

Image Credits
Donnie Dagley Kristopher George Tanner Henson Kenny Storms Julia VonDreele