Rachel Zamstein is a beautiful contradiction. Delicate but biting, unfiltered yet precise, she feels everything a little too deeply and somehow alchemises it into music you can’t turn away from. Her voice shifts in an instant. One moment, it’s a quiet confession; the next, it’s ripping through the silence like it’s a ghost with unfinished business. She jams folk, punk, and jazz into a pressure cooker, throws the lid on tight, and when it blows? You get a sound that’s part mayhem, part magic, and definitely a fire hazard—but damn, it’s delicious.
“Usually, it’s me with an acoustic guitar and/or piano, but I’ve played with bands before and I’d like to again. I also feel like I’m in a transformation process currently, of trying to figure out how best to evolve and mature this aspect of my artistry.”
She’s been writing, playing, and pouring herself into songs since she was 12, taking whatever stage would have her. Growing up in West Hartford, Connecticut, she cut her teeth at block parties before throwing herself headfirst into the NYC music scene. She’s shared stages with A Great Big World, Ingrid Michaelson, and even opened for Martha Wainwright. Oh, and somewhere along the way, she appeared on America’s Got Talent—another chapter in her unpredictable journey.
“I started writing songs when I was 12, and thankfully my dad was very supportive so by the time I was about 15 he brought me to the local recording studio a town over and I started playing shows and recording my songs around that time.”
Rachel writes like someone who’s done pretending. No masking, only the truth, however that lands. This isn’t an artistic choice—it’s a necessity. Rachel is neurodivergent and lives with multiple health conditions, including ADHD, a late autism diagnosis (she wasn’t diagnosed until she was 36), Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), Hashimoto’s, Endometriosis, and PTSD. These conditions have shaped both her life and her music. Rather than fighting it, she lets it fuel her songwriting.
The result? Lyrics that cut deep, melodies that stay with you, and a sound that refuses to fit neatly into a box. She’s lived through loss, grief, and the kind of heartbreak that carves new fault lines in a person. But her music isn’t about sinking under the weight of it. It’s about locking eyes with the darkness, learning its rhythm, and stepping forward anyway. Changed, yes. Scarred, absolutely. But still standing.
“Over the last 12 years, my career slowed down as I focused on raising my son. However, I continued to perform, including shows at someone’s family farm, which happened to be quite large with many people in attendance and a nice family-friendly atmosphere of people who genuinely love to listen to live music.”
Her sound is a tangled, electric thread of Joni Mitchell’s storytelling, Fiona Apple’s fire, The Beatles’ melodies, Nirvana’s grit, and Paramore’s urgency. Not just influences—more like kindred spirits in setting their insides on fire to light the way. You hear it in every note, every lyric thrown like a spark, daring you to catch it.
Her latest release, Shadow Work: The Acoustic Singles, is folk-punk stripped to its bones. Her, a nylon-string guitar, and nowhere to hide. It’s brutally honest—no frills, no safety net. And she’s not stopping there. The full Shadow Work album is coming, reaching headfirst into the emotions most people spend their lives running from. Take ‘Die Alone Psycho,’ a song that turns self-destruction into an earworm so catchy you’ll be humming your own bad decisions for days.
“I recently released Shadow Work: The Acoustic Singles, a collection of four songs that share a cohesive acoustic folk-punk feel, while the choruses occasionally lean into an acoustic pop sensibility. The production is intentionally stripped down, consisting of just a few core elements—my voice and a nylon-string acoustic guitar. At times, I leave the guitar completely natural, while in other moments, I run it through preamp effects to create additional textures.”
Listen to the Acoustic Singles Below:
Rachel doesn’t just sing her songs; she lives them. That’s what makes her music so potent. She doesn’t do gimmicks, and she sure as hell doesn’t do bullshit. What she does is create something real. And if you’re looking for music that actually leaves a mark? You found it. Zamstein deserves your time.
“Yes, I’m incredibly excited to have the entire Shadow Work album completed this year. The theme of shadow workrevolves around allowing myself to express and feel emotions that are often deemed socially unacceptable—yet still valid. When suppressed, these emotions can wreak havoc on the psyche and hinder one’s ability to experience true joy.“
Visit Rachel’s Linktree for more.
Stay unruly.
