Biography
California native Rain Perry has established herself across multiple disciplines, working as a singer and songwriter while also taking on roles in theater and film. Her approach to music favors introspective, frequently personal D.I.Y. folk-rock, resulting in covers by Nanci Griffith and Tom Russell as well as collaborations that encompass Victoria Williams and Chuck Prophet. The 2008 album Cinderblock Bookshelves later served as the foundation for a one-woman stage production, and she composed the theme for the television series Life Unexpected. Following her 2016 directorial effort on the music documentary The Shopkeeper, she issued two additional albums, among them the socially conscious A White Album in 2022.
Perry entered the world in Hollywood, California, and was raised by her father, writer and actor John Hazen Perry, following the death of her mother. A series of relocations that took her through Marin County and Colorado eventually brought her to Ojai, California, where she settled. Upon completing college in 1996 she turned greater attention to songwriting, achieving an initial national breakthrough with the country-tinged folk piece “Yosemite,” which earned first place in the folk division of the 2000 John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Tom Russell and Nanci Griffith both recorded the song in 2003. By that time Perry had already released her independent debut, Balance, on her own Precipitous Records label. Her follow-up, Cinderblock Bookshelves, arrived in 2008 and gradually developed into an autobiographical one-woman play that opened at a venue in Ojai; she toured the production while generating fresh material that found its way onto the 2010 album Internal Combustion. A track from the earlier record, “Beautiful Tree,” was selected as the theme for the CW Network drama Life Unexpected, and Perry herself appeared in one episode performing at a music festival.
Teaming once more with longtime collaborator Mark Hallman, she completed her fourth album, Men, issued in 2013. The collection traversed rugged alt-rock, tranquil folk, and orchestral textures, highlighted by the duet “One of Those Days” with singer-songwriter Matt the Electrician. Perry made her directorial debut with the 2016 documentary The Shopkeeper, which examined the impact of the streaming economy on the music industry and included appearances by Ani DiFranco, Tom Russell, Iain Matthews, and Sara Hickman. After the Thomas Fire destroyed her recording studio, she channeled the experience into the 2019 album Let’s Be Brave, shaped by personal and environmental concerns and featuring contributions from Chuck Prophet and Jon Dee Graham. Her subsequent project, the 2022 release A White Album, addressed the subject of race through an array of guest performances by Ben Lee, Akina Adderley, and the Pihcintu Multinational Children’s Chorus, with plans to adapt the material for the stage.
Perry entered the world in Hollywood, California, and was raised by her father, writer and actor John Hazen Perry, following the death of her mother. A series of relocations that took her through Marin County and Colorado eventually brought her to Ojai, California, where she settled. Upon completing college in 1996 she turned greater attention to songwriting, achieving an initial national breakthrough with the country-tinged folk piece “Yosemite,” which earned first place in the folk division of the 2000 John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Tom Russell and Nanci Griffith both recorded the song in 2003. By that time Perry had already released her independent debut, Balance, on her own Precipitous Records label. Her follow-up, Cinderblock Bookshelves, arrived in 2008 and gradually developed into an autobiographical one-woman play that opened at a venue in Ojai; she toured the production while generating fresh material that found its way onto the 2010 album Internal Combustion. A track from the earlier record, “Beautiful Tree,” was selected as the theme for the CW Network drama Life Unexpected, and Perry herself appeared in one episode performing at a music festival.
Teaming once more with longtime collaborator Mark Hallman, she completed her fourth album, Men, issued in 2013. The collection traversed rugged alt-rock, tranquil folk, and orchestral textures, highlighted by the duet “One of Those Days” with singer-songwriter Matt the Electrician. Perry made her directorial debut with the 2016 documentary The Shopkeeper, which examined the impact of the streaming economy on the music industry and included appearances by Ani DiFranco, Tom Russell, Iain Matthews, and Sara Hickman. After the Thomas Fire destroyed her recording studio, she channeled the experience into the 2019 album Let’s Be Brave, shaped by personal and environmental concerns and featuring contributions from Chuck Prophet and Jon Dee Graham. Her subsequent project, the 2022 release A White Album, addressed the subject of race through an array of guest performances by Ben Lee, Akina Adderley, and the Pihcintu Multinational Children’s Chorus, with plans to adapt the material for the stage.
Albums