Today we’d like to introduce you to Charity Hendricks Rael.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Great Lumbering Beast started as a way for me to turn my experiences, anxieties, and sense of humor into songs that felt honest. I’m Charity Hendricks Rael, a Denver-based songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist, and what began largely as my own songwriting project eventually grew into a full band.
Over time I found musicians who understood what I was trying to create without sanding off the weird edges. Today Great Lumbering Beast is me on vocals and guitar, Jon Stone on guitar, Jessica Seybold on bass, and Shawn Farmer on drums. We’ve developed a sound that pulls from alternative rock, indie, grunge, and whatever else happens to serve the song.
A lot of my writing comes from real life. Songs like “Social Anxiety,” “Things Aren’t So Bad,” and “Real Big Nothing” can be funny, uncomfortable, vulnerable, or all three at once. I like writing about things people actually feel but don’t always know how to say out loud.
We’ve gone from writing and figuring out who we are as a band to releasing original music and playing around Denver, while I also perform stripped-down acoustic sets on my own. We’re still growing, recording, playing shows, and reaching new people. Great Lumbering Beast isn’t supposed to be perfectly polished or easily categorized. It’s about making something genuine, a little strange, and very human—and seeing where we can take it from here.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. Like a lot of independent bands, we’ve had lineup changes, scheduling conflicts, financial limitations, and the constant challenge of balancing music with jobs and everyday life. There have been shows that didn’t go as planned, opportunities that fell through, and plenty of moments where it would have been easier to stop.
One of the biggest challenges for me personally has been learning to trust myself as a musician. I’m primarily a songwriter and vocalist, and I didn’t start this because I thought I was the greatest guitar player in the room. I started because I had songs I wanted people to hear. Over time I’ve learned that being genuine and having something to say matters more than being technically perfect.
Keeping a band together and moving in the same direction can also be difficult, but the struggles have helped shape Great Lumbering Beast. We’ve learned to adapt, laugh when things go sideways, and keep showing up. Every setback has taught us something, and somehow the Beast keeps lumbering forward.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Great Lumbering Beast is a Denver-based alternative rock project built around my songwriting. I’m Charity Hendricks Rael, the vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist, and I write songs that pull from real experiences, anxiety, relationships, humor, and the general weirdness of being a person.
Musically, we blend alternative rock, indie, grunge, and whatever else fits the song. I’m especially interested in the contrast between serious subjects and music or lyrics that can still be fun, catchy, or funny. I don’t want every song to sound the same just because it came from the same band.
I’m most proud that Great Lumbering Beast has grown from songs I wrote into something other musicians have helped bring to life. Jon Stone plays guitar, Jessica Seybold plays bass, and Shawn Farmer plays drums, and everyone brings something different to the music.
What sets us apart is that we’re not trying very hard to fit into a particular box. The songs are personal without taking themselves too seriously, and our live shows have that same personality. Whether I’m playing them alone acoustically or we’re playing as a full band, I want people to walk away feeling like they experienced something genuine, imperfect, funny, loud, and human.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
What I like best about Denver is the creative community. There are so many musicians, artists, venues, and genuinely interesting people here. I’ve met some incredible people through playing music, and I love that on any given night you can walk into a small venue and discover a band you’ve never heard of that absolutely kills it. Denver has given Great Lumbering Beast a place to grow, experiment, play shows, and meet people who genuinely care about local music.
I also love that Denver has its own personality. It’s a city, but you can still find neighborhood bars, weird little local places, and communities where people know and support each other.
What I like least is how expensive it has become, especially for artists and working people trying to find the time and money to create. I also really dislike the pay-to-play side of the local music industry. We recently played a venue where we personally sold over $320 worth of tickets and walked away with only $126, despite the fact that we brought those people through the door and many of them also spent money on food and drinks once they were there. Musicians put a tremendous amount of unpaid time into writing, rehearsing, promoting, hauling equipment, and bringing an audience out, and I would love to see more venues recognize the value local artists are bringing to their businesses.
I understand that venues have expenses too, and I want local venues to succeed because we need them. I just think there needs to be a healthier relationship where venues and musicians support each other and both benefit when a show does well.
Denver is changing a lot, but there’s still a creative heart here that I really love. I just hope we continue building a music scene where the artists creating that culture can afford to be part of it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://greatlumberingbeast.bandcamp.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/GreatLumberingBeast/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreatLumberingBeast/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/greatlumberingb
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/GreatLumberingBeast
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/greatlumberingbeast
- Other: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/great-lumbering-beast/1525970847
