Rachel Gaudry

Born on Christmas Day, the youngest of nine children, Rachel grew up in suburban Canberra, Australia. When she was six, she started piano lessons and at eleven won a music scholarship to a boarding school in rural NSW. After later returning to study at an arts-oriented school in Canberra, Rachel spent a year living and traveling in Europe, before returning down under to study jazz performance at the Canberra School of Music. A relative late-starter at writing her own songs (well, really only 22!), Rachel's finely-tuned musical ear plus years of classical piano training have helped her grasp the fundamentals of creating a good song. Rachel's finely-crafted songs combine catchy pop melodies with lush acoustic textures and evocative piano playing.

Rachel's music first aroused wide public attention when her song "Lonesome Blue" was chosen from over 200 songs to be featured on the Bloomers One compilation, which showcased sixteen of Australia's brightest up-and-coming women singer/songwriters. Distributed by Warner Music, the album garnered favorable media attention (Billboard) and considerable critical success. Rachel's career shifted into higher gear when she appeared on the nationally-televised prime time TV show Starstruck, the Australian precursor to "American Idol," winning her episode and going on to further wow the judges and audience with her striking performance in the grand final. Her song "Take Me To Ride" was later featured on a Starstruck highlights album, released by BMG.

Leaving Traces, Rachel's debut, was produced by Chad Wackerman, best known for his twelve-year tenure as Frank Zappa's drummer, as well as recording and touring with such luminaries as James Taylor and Barbra Streisand, and also features Mark Punch (Kasey Chambers) on guitar. Following its release in Rachel's native Australia, Virt Records released the album in North America, supported by an extensive national tour of the States. Rachel has performed at such popular and prestigious venues and events as the House of Blues, the Knitting Factory, the Bitter End, CMJ, and NXNE.