Hurray for the Riff Raff

Hurray for the Riff Raff
Alynda Segarra, the band's frontperson, in 2016
Background information
Origin	New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Genres	Americana
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Born to Win Nonesuch ATO Loose Music
Members	Alynda Segarra
Website	hurrayfortheriffraff.com

Hurray for the Riff Raff is an American band formed in New Orleans in 2007 by Alynda Segarra, a singer-songwriter from the Bronx, New York.

As Segarra's project, the group originally performed different styles of folk music while releasing several albums independently.

Alynda Mariposa Segarra (formerly known as Alynda Lee) was raised by their aunt and uncle in the Bronx where they developed an early appreciation for doo-wop and Motown. They are of Puerto Rican heritage.^[1]

Segarra became a regular attendee of hardcore punk shows at ABC No Rio when they were young.^[2] They left their home in the Bronx at age 17, spending time crossing North America, hopping freight trains.^[2]

Around 2007, Segarra became a part of the Dead Man Street Orchestra, a hobo band that was documented in a photo essay by Time magazine in 2007.^[3] Segarra traveled with the group for two years, releasing two independent albums and embarking on freight train tours across the country.

In 2008, Segarra self-released Hurray for the Riff Raff's first studio album, It Don't Mean I Don't Love You, followed by another self-released album, Young Blood Blues, in 2010. In February 2011, Hurray for the Riff Raff were featured in an article in UK newspaper The Times based around the HBO TV series Treme, with their track "Daniella" having been included in the show's selection of New Orleans' essential songs.^[4]

On March 21, 2011, Hurray for the Riff Raff released their self-titled CD on Loose Music in Europe, composed of Segarra's favorite songs from the band's two previous records. Tracks from this indie-label debut release by the band received airplay on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 6 Music.

In May 2012, Hurray for the Riff Raff released Look Out Mama on their own label, Born to Win Records, as well as on Loose Music in Europe. No Depression said it "sounds like something The Band would’ve had playing on a Victorola while making Music From Big Pink in Woodstock."^[5] The album was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee at The Bomb Shelter Studios and produced by Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes).^[6] The record features the single "End of the Line".

My Dearest Darkest Neighbor was then released on July 1, 2013, through Mod Mobilian Records and This Is American Music. The album was previously available only as a Kickstarter reward and in limited local release and featured handmade covers.^[7][8] Tracks on the record include songs by Townes Van Zandt, Billie Holiday, Gillian Welch, Leadbelly, John Lennon, Lucinda Williams, Joni Mitchell, Hank Williams, and George Harrison, and features Segarra's interpretation of Gillian Welch's "Ruination Day".

The Wall Street Journal describes Segarra's singing thus: "She has a subtle, expressive voice that she wraps around songs that draw on the sounds and styles of the American South, and her lyrics often take unconventional tack on traditional subjects."^[9]

Spin previewed a video of the band's song "St. Roch Blues".^[10]

In February 2014, Hurray for the Riff Raff had their ATO Records debut with Small Town Heroes.^[11] The record featured “The Body Electric,” a song that NPR’s Ann Powers called “The Political Song of the Year” in 2014 and says the album "sweeps across eras and genres with grace and grit."

Describing Segarra's music, NPR says "Segarra's morning-after alto might be the least showy great voice to hit the national scene this year."^[12]

In early July 2016, the band played the Danish festival of Roskilde to an enthusiastic audience.^[13] In December 2016, they announced a new record, The Navigator, on Pitchfork with the first single from the album, "Rican Beach." The album was released on March 10, 2017, on ATO Records.^[14]

In late 2018, Segarra joined organizers of the Newport Folk Festival to travel to Puerto Rico and deliver instruments to various public schools.^[15] During that visit, Segarra played their first concert at La Respuesta in Santurce.^[16]

In 2019, HftRR's "Pa'lante" won Best Music Video at the SXSW Film Festival Jury and Specials Awards.^[17]

In 2021, Nonesuch Records announced Hurray for the Riff Raff's debut album on the label. Life on Earth was released on February 18, 2022. Its eleven new “nature punk” tracks on the theme of survival are "music for a world in flux—songs about thriving, not just surviving, while disaster is happening."^[18] Leading up to its release, Stereogum made it their album of the week, noting that the album's "sonic backdrop is fluid yet unmistakable no matter what form it takes. Even at their most synthetic, these tracks come across as earthy and alive—an extension of their environment. Even at their smallest and quietest, they feel huge."^[19] The album was met with critical acclaim upon its release.^[20]

Segarra lives in New Orleans, is non-binary,^[21] and uses they/them pronouns.^[22]

• Hurray for the Riff Raff, Newport Folk Festival 2013 - Newport Folk Festival (Newport, RI)
• Hurray for the Riff Raff, January 9, 2014 - WFUV (New York, NY)

• Official website
• Hurray for the Riff Raff discography at Discogs