Rainbow Girls Explained

Background:group_or_band
Rainbow Girls
Origin:Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
Genre:Indie, folk, Americana, a cappella, Rock and roll
Years Active:–present
Current Members:
  • Erin Chapin
  • Caitlin Gowdey
  • Vanessa Wilbourn
Past Members:
  • Cheyenne Skye
  • Savannah Hughes

Rainbow Girls are a three-piece singing group made up of Erin Chapin, Caitlin Gowdey, and Vanessa Wilbourn from the North Bay area of California.

History

Rainbow Girls formed in the fall of 2010, when they began performing together at an underground open mic in UC Santa Barbara’s neighboring college town, Isla Vista.[1] Original members consisted of Erin Chapin, Caitlin Gowdey, Vanessa Wilbourn, and Cheyenne Methmann.[2]

The band spent the Summer of 2011 busking and couch-surfing in Europe, and releasing self-recorded demos.[3] When they returned to California in the Fall, they began playing with drummer Savannah Hughes. The band performed at farmers markets in the Santa Barbara area, playing venues like SoHo and Cold Spring Tavern and performing at local festivals like Earth Day and Summer Solstice.[4]

In April 2013, the band left Santa Barbara and moved to the countryside north of San Francisco’s Bay Area. That same year, Rainbow Girls released their crowdfunded debut album, The Sound of Light.[5] Rainbow Girls continued to tour the West Coast regularly, as well as Europe and the UK every summer.

After the departure of Methmann in 2024,[6] the remaining four members recorded their sophomore album, Perceptronium, and released it in June 2015.[7]

In the spring of 2016, Hughes announced she could no longer tour with the band full-time, so the remaining three members of the band – Chapin, Gowdey, and Wilbourn – began performing as a trio. In this period they opened for John Craigie and The Brothers Comatose.[8]

On November 8, 2017, Rainbow Girls released their third album, American Dream, with a shift to a more acoustic folk sound.[9] [10] [11]

In the fall of 2018, the band received wide exposure when their video of Alvin Robinson's "Down Home Girl" received several million views on Facebook.[12] They soon went into the studio to record a cover album, Give the People What They Want, which was released on February 22, 2019.[13] Their video for “Down Home Girl” (originally performed by Robinson and popularized by The Rolling Stones, The Coasters, and Old Crow Medicine Show) led them to be picked up by Madison House booking agency, as well as by manager, Hannah Spero.[14]

Discography

Albums

!Year!Title
2013The Sound of Light
2015Perceptronium
2017American Dream
2019Give the People What They Want
2021Rolling Dumpster Fire
2023Welcome to Whatever

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Broad Spectrum . 30 May 2019 . www.vcreporter.com . 25 February 2014 . VC Reporter.
  2. Web site: Comingore . Aly . 23 May 2013 . Rainbow Girls Release The Sound of Light . 30 May 2019 . www.independent.com . Santa Barbara Independent.
  3. Web site: Miasnikov . Cassandra . Rainbow Girls Album Release Party . www.independent.com . 5 June 2015 . Santa Barbara Independent . 30 May 2019.
  4. Web site: Past Shows . www.rainbowgirlsmusic.com . Rainbow Girls . 30 May 2019.
  5. Web site: Comingore . Aly . Rainbow Girls Release The Sound of Light . www.independent.com . 23 May 2013 . Santa Barbara Independent . 30 May 2019.
  6. Web site: Cheyenne's Last Show - Rainbow Girls @ Soho!! . www.facebook.com . Facebook . 30 May 2019.
  7. Web site: Miasnikov . Cassandra . Rainbow Girls Album Release Party . www.independent.com . 5 June 2015 . Santa Barbara Independent . 30 May 2019.
  8. Web site: The Brothers Comatose - T Sisters, The Rainbow Girls . www.slimspresents.com . The Great American Music Hall . 30 May 2019.
  9. Web site: Frahm . Jonathan . Rainbow Girls - "American Dream" (video) (premiere) . www.popmatters.com . 8 November 2017 . Pop Matters . 30 May 2019.
  10. Web site: Liberatore . Paul . Rainbow Girls keep chasing their American Dream . www.marinij.com . 2 November 2017 . Marin Independent Journal . 30 May 2019.
  11. Web site: Taylor . Bianca . Rainbow Girls Turn Up Their Political Message by Turning Off Their Amps . www.kqed.org . 24 December 2017 . KQED . 30 May 2019.
  12. Web site: "Down Home Girl" - Rainbow Girls (Alvin Robinson Cover) . www.facebook.com . Rainbow Girls . 30 May 2019.
  13. Web site: Law . Charlie . Album - Rainbow Girls - Give The People What They Want . www.forfolkssake.com . 11 March 2019 . for folk's sake . 30 May 2019.
  14. Web site: Rainbow Girls . www.madisonhouseinc.com . Madison House . 30 May 2019.