Rachel Goodrich Finds Inspiration in a Familiar Setting

I first saw Rachel Goodrich perform in 2010 on a rainy night in a raw, empty concrete shell in Wynwood. At one point during the show, she and her band handed out little toy maracas and tambourines to the crowd, seamlessly incorporating us into the experience. It felt like a bunch of old friends hanging out at a house party, appreciating the talented ringleader of our gang for the night.

"I tried to be different from what I saw most bands doing at the time," Goodrich says of those early performances. "I wanted to put as many people on stage as I possibly could and have everyone in the audience playing along. I wanted to have my own party."

That participatory spirit defined her early Miami shows and created connections that fans like myself wouldn't soon forget. Over a decade later, Goodrich still feels like Miami's best-kept secret, even as her name carries weight far beyond our city limits.

Offstage, she comes off sweet, silly, and maybe a bit awkward, like a puppy still growing into its paws. But the moment she steps onto the stage, any hint of self-consciousness morphs into confident grace. She often strums a big, gleaming guitar that dwarfs her slim figure, her sultry voice weaving unassuming banter between songs. Then, without warning, she'll shift to something high and sweet, her voice climbing effortlessly into scales that sound like melodic laughter. She has always possessed this remarkable ability to transform musical imperfections into something authentic and charming. When she forgets a lyric or fumbles a chord, she molds the mistake into something that feels intentional, a perfectly imperfect handmade artifact. Her music oscillates between the profoundly moving and the heartwarmingly whimsical.

In 2011, after establishing herself as a beloved figure in the local indie scene with her signature "shake-a-billy" style — a fusion of vaudeville-inspired indie pop, swing jazz, and country folk — she moved out to Los Angeles, drawn by the desire to explore bigger opportunities out west.
Her decade in the City of Angeles shaped her sound and understanding of the music industry. "I traded in the ukulele and kazoo for the electric guitar," Goodrich muses. "I started an all-girl surf rock band, Rachel Goodrich & the Grrrls, inspired by my life in Venice." Riding her skateboard around, listening to doo-wop and surf rock records, it all comes across in the tracks she put out during that time. Over that decade or so, Rachel would often visit family and friends back home and occasionally perform while here.

More recently, she's been splitting her time more evenly between Miami and the West Coast. Her latest album, Once Before, out on April 4, reveals an artist who has come full circle while evolving in profound ways. Goodrich has found renewed inspiration in the historic streets of South Beach, away from the flashy club scene and among the locals holding onto a life that feels increasingly rare in today's Miami.

"Coming back to South Beach, you're surrounded by so many cultures, and you're surrounded by jazz music, Latin music. It's tough not to absorb that," she says of her homecoming. "I'm looking at things through a more refined lens, and I'm listening to jazz tunes in a completely different way, on an emotional level."

This newfound perspective shapes her current work, informed by solitary explorations of her hometown. "Every day in South Beach is a romantic journey," she reveals, "taking walks, sitting at cafés, admiring the historic architecture and hidden gems — it's all such a big thing that contributed to these songs."

Her earlier albums were more tongue-in-cheek, bordering on sarcasm, but this latest release is more direct and vulnerable. It showcases a maturity that builds upon the playful energy of her early work while embracing the depth that comes from life's journey. For Goodrich, music has always been "a way to have a one-sided conversation," but her evolution as an artist has transformed those conversations into something more universal, connecting with listeners on a level that transcends her personal experience while remaining authentically, unmistakably Rachel Goodrich.