Rachael Cantu (born June 8, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter. She was born and grew up in

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

.Boston Globe
March 3, 2006 She currently lives in Los Angeles.

Career

Cantu started her career fronting a southern Californian indie rock band called Quite Satellite while still in high school from 1997 through 2000, releasing a few singles with other local bands like Driving By Braille and Machine-Gun Kelly. She later wrote and performed as a solo artist in Los Angeles and San Diego, and opened for bands such as

The Get Up Kids The Get Up Kids are an American emo band from Kansas City. Formed in 1995, the band was a major act in the mid-1990s Midwest emo scene, otherwise known as the " second wave" of emo music. Their second album '' Something to Write Home About'' r ...

, Saves the Day and

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

. After moving to Boston, her reputation grew amongst fellow artists. Cantu opened for Canadian indie pop duo

Tegan and Sara Tegan and Sara () are a Canadian indie pop duo formed in 1998 in Calgary, Alberta. The band is led by identical twin sisters, Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin (born September 19, 1980). Both musicians are songwriters and multi-instrumentali ...

on two North American tours, and also for

Limbeck Limbeck is an American rock band that formed in Southern California, in 1999. The group featured Robb MacLean on lead vocals and guitar, Patrick Carrie guitar and backing vocals, Justin Entsminger on bass, and Jon Phillip, who replaced Matthew S ...

and

Ben Lee Benjamin Michael Lee (born 11 September 1978) is an Australian musician and actor. Lee began his career as a musician at the age of 14 with the Sydney band Noise Addict, but he focused on his solo career when the band broke up in 1995. He app ...

. Cantu's first release was the EP ''Blood Laughs''. After signing to Q Division Records, in 2006 she released her debut album ''Run All Night''. The album has been well received by critics, and was successful in the independent album charts. Since then she has toured North America to promote the album. Tegan Quin of Tegan and Sara appeared as a backing vocalist on ''Saturday'', as well as Tony Goddess of

Papas Fritas Papas Fritas (typically stylized as pApAs fritAs) were an American indie rock band that formed in 1992 and released three studio albums before breaking up in 2000. The band's name is Spanish for "fried potatoes" (specifically "French fries" in ...

. Cantu has also recorded songs with

Kori Gardner Mates of State are an American indie pop duo, active since 1997. The group is the husband-and-wife team of Kori Gardner (born June 16, 1974) (vocals, organ, synthesizer, piano, electric piano, and occasional guitar and drums) and Jason Hammel (b ...

Mates of State Mates of State are an American indie pop duo, active since 1997. The group is the husband-and-wife team of Kori Gardner (born June 16, 1974) (vocals, organ, synthesizer, piano, electric piano, and occasional guitar and drums) and Jason Hammel (b ...

, and

Jason Gnewikow The Promise Ring was an American rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that is recognized as part of the second wave of emo. Among various other EPs and singles, the band released four studio albums during their initial run: '' 30° Everywher ...

The Promise Ring The Promise Ring was an American rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that is recognized as part of the second wave of emo. Among various other EPs and singles, the band released four studio albums during their initial run: '' 30° Every ...

. Musically, Cantu has been described as "something of a mix of

The Pretenders The Pretenders are a British rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (ba ...

Chrissie Hynde Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American-British musician. She is a founding member of the rock band the Pretenders and is the band's lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter; she and drummer Martin Chambers are the ...

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automat ...

Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. As of 2015, she had sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is ''Surfacing (album), Surfacing'' (1997), for which she won two G ...

, and

Norah Jones Norah Jones ( ; born Geethali Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has won several awards for her music and, , has sold more than 53 million records worldwide. '' Billboard'' named her the top jazz artist of ...

". She has also been compared vocally to

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

and

Patty Griffin Patricia Jean Griffin (born March 16, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician.Griffin, Patricia She is a vocalist and plays guitar and piano. She is known for her stripped-down songwriting style in the folk music genre. Her songs ...

.WaxFruit
– Artist information In January 2009, Cantu's song "Devil's Thunder" was featured on ABC's " Private Practice." In February 2009, Cantu's self-titled EP was released. In 2009 and 2010, she opened on various dates for blues legend

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...

. In November 2009, she released her second studio album, ''Far and Wide'',Friends With Both Arms
– review of Far and WideAutostraddle
– review of Far and Wide created with Vancouver-based producer Garth Futcher (best known for his work with

Be Good Tanyas The Be Good Tanyas are a Canadian folk music group formed in Vancouver in 1999. Their influences include folk, country, and bluegrass. The style of music they perform can be referred to as alt-country or Americana. History The Be Good Tanyas f ...

). Her music has been widely celebrated by press including SPIN, Stereogum, Buzzfeed, Autostraddle and Rookie. Rachael's song "Make Our Own Way", by her studio project with Harlan Silverman, Little Brutes, was commissioned as the theme song for the NBC/Ellen Degeneres-produced sitcom, ‘One Big Happy’, with many of her songs have been featured on numerous TV shows including ‘Pretty Little Liars’, ‘Shameless’, ‘Private Practice’, ‘Royal Pains’ and ‘Degrassi’. Rachael's third solo EP, Love Rush, was released Spring of 2018. The record is a lush, evocative collection of deeply personal songs about love and loss. Love Rush reflects a shift into pop territory, which, in part, was inspired by her volunteer work with the Songs For Kids Foundation, an organization that brings musicians into children's hospitals to sing popular music.

Personal life

Rachael Cantu is

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

and since 2013, she is married to the actress, comedian, writer, and producer

Liz Feldman Liz Feldman is an American comedian, writer, producer and director. She is best known as the creator and executive producer of the Netflix dark comedy series '' Dead to Me'' and '' No Good Deed'.'' She also created the NBC sitcom ''One Big Ha ...

Discography

Albums

*''Split EP'' with Robb MacLean (Limbeck) *''Blood Laughs EP'' (2004) *''Run All Night'' (2006) *''Far and Wide'' (2009) *''Covers'' (2013) *''Little Brutes EP (2011)'' *''Little Brutes – Desire EP (2015)'' *''Love Rush EP (2018)''

Compilations

*''Sound Relief Volume One: From CA to NYC'' (2001) – "Best Wishes" *''Paupers, Peasants, Princes & Kings: The Songs of Bob Dylan'' (2006) – "I Threw It All Away" *'' Terrible Thrills, Vol. 1'' (2010) – "Soldier in the Army" *''Bother Me Tomorrow: An Indie Tribute to Creedence Clearwater Revival'' (2014) – "Proud Mary"

References

External links

Official WebsiteRachael Cantu at Q Division Records
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cantu, Rachael 1981 births Living people American women singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from California Singer-songwriters from Massachusetts American lesbian musicians LGBTQ people from California Musicians from Orange County, California 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American women singers