Rachael Price and Vilray began performing together in 2015, although they first met in 2003 as students at the New England Conservatory of Music. Vilray formed a couple of bands with Price's soon-to-be bandmates in Lake Street Dive-Price recalls he had a nimble mind and quick wit when it came to lyrics. It was more than a decade later that Price and Vilray began to collaborate. She had been on the road much of each year with Lake Street Dive and he had been developing his own solo act, just voice and guitar. In 2019, Rachael & Vilray released their self-titled debut album via Nonesuch Records to critical praise; NPR said, "She can sing anything; he can play anything... Tin Pan Alley meets the Lower East Side in a smoky bar, in songs with a twist of humor. " In addition, the duo performed two songs from their debut-"At Your Mother's House" and "Do Friends Fall in Love"-on the"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. "