NYC – Hayley Sings

Rachael MacFarlane (American Dad) performs with Tedd Firth and the BIG BAND at the Highline Ballroom on Monday, October 15, 2012. Tickets and details at the link.

Bio:

Rachael MacFarlane is not just the younger sister of Fox’s billion dollar animation brain: Seth MacFarlane, she is one of the most accomplished voice-over actresses in Hollywood today. Currently she provides the voices for a multitude of animated characters including Hayley from American Dad; Mindy and Eris from the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy; and #362 from Codename: Kids Next Door. Rachael has sung on many animated series including the voice of Barbra Streisand, Christina Aguilera, Madonna, and Celine Dion among others.

Rachael MacFarlane grew up in Kent, Connecticut with her mother Perry, her father Ron, and her brother Seth. She lived on the campus of an all-boys private school where her father was a teacher. Ron was also a singer who performed in community centers and on occasion, 8 year old Rachael would duet with him on songs like “Marblehead Morning” and “You’ve Got A Friend.”

After dinner, singing on the back deck of the MacFarlane home had a great influence on Rachael’s studies. It was here that she listened to her father and mother harmonize with songs of the 60’s and 70’s from groups like Crosby Stills and Nash, and Simon and Garfunkel. She was also very involved in community musical theatre – playing in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, starring as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, and Nancy in Oliver, among others. In the High School Band she played French horn, and sang in both the school and the church choirs.

She attended college at the Boston Conservatory where she studied voice, acting, and dance.

In 1998, Rachael moved to NYC to hone her career – and after a year and half of auditioning, and earning a living as a nanny for a famous Broadway producer, she decided to vacation in California – where her brother had settled, and where he was experiencing the beginnings of his great success. That was in 1998, and Rachael still has the return ticket to NYC.

She joined the Cartoon Network as a PA, and was immediately tested as a voice over artist. Her first big role came during the first season of Family Guy – where she was cast as “Jennifer, the Cult Girl.” That triumph was quickly followed by roles in The Powder Puff Girls, Dexter’s Lab, and What’s New Scooby Doo? These all led up to her starring role as “Hayley” in American Dad.

And so Rachael MacFarlane has remained the “mystery girl’ behind the many animated voices for the beginning of her career – but that is soon to change in a big way. Concord Records is releasing her very first CD on September 25, 2012 entitled: “Hayley Sings” – which contains songs that Hayley Smith will sing on the American Dad series, as well as songs that Hayley would choose to sing – given her character and personality on the show. She is a child of the 60’s and 70’s living in the 21st century, and her music idols include Carole King, Paul McCartney, and Paul Simon – among others. Rachael has re-envisioned some of the great standards written by Hayley’s music heroes – and made them into unique new standards for the I-pod generation. The influence of both Ron and Perry can be heard in every note she sings.

Highline Ballroom
431 W 16th Street, New York, NY 10011
between 9th & 10th Ave
(212) 414-5994