Hurray For The Riff Raff – aka Alynda Segarra (they/them) – was born in the Bronx and of Puerto Rican heritage, and raised by a blue-collar aunt and uncle. They were radicalised by the time they hit their teens, baptised in the anti-war movement and galvanised in New York’s punk haunts and queer spaces.
At 17, Segarra split, becoming the kid in a communal squat before shuttling to California, where they hopped trains across the country. They eventually found home – spiritual, emotional, physical – in New Orleans, forming a band and finding that music was not only a way to share what they’d learned and seen, but to learn and see more. Hurray For The Riff Raff steadily rose from house shows to a major label, where Segarra became a pan-everything fixture of the modern folk movement.
A prolific writer and performer, Segarra’s music has taken them all around the world, with shows in Europe, the Dominican Republic, and even Australia. All the while, critical acclaim has never been far away thanks to their vital and immediate musical style and intense live appearances.
In 2024, Hurray For The Riff Raff released their ninth studio album, The Past Is Still Alive. Described as the “album of their life so far”, it’s both a memoir and a roadmap to America’s fringes, with Segarra delivering profound reflections on time, memory, love and loss, by way of the radical, real-life experiences they had always worried were too much to reveal.
Alynda Segarra is finding freedom in grief…their new record functions as a kind of queer Americana ode to the colorful cast of characters they have encountered over the years
– Vogue
Hurray for the Riff Raff – Hawkmoon
Hurray for the Riff Raff’s poetic power proves why they have become a pan-everything fixture of the modern folk movement, illustrating inequality and independence, and navigating chaos and trauma with a sense of wonder and want. The Past Is Still Alive was produced by Brad Cook (Bon Iver, Angie McMahon, Waxahatchee) and recorded in Durham, NC just a month after the passing of Segarra’s father, and features contributions from Anjimile, Conor Oberst, Meg Duffy, Mike Mogis, Phil Cook, S.G. Goodman and more. Across the record they grapple with time, memory, love and loss, marking the most magnetic Hurray For The Riff Raff album to date.
Now in late 2024, Hurray For The Riff Raff will be returning to Australia for their first tour of the country in six years. With appearances at the Dashville Skyline Festival in Wonnarua Country/Hunter Valley, and the Out On The Weekend Festivals in Naarm/Melbourne and Bunurong Country/Korumburra, Segarra will also be playing headline dates in Eora/Sydney, Bundjalung Country/Eltham, and Meanjin/Brisbane.
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