Rain Perry takes on a timely and complex topic in her upcoming 2022 release, A White Album, asking “What does it mean to be white? What can we learn if we face our demons head on? Can we get past the defensiveness and shame and build a more just and empathetic America?” The Indie Pop album will arrive April 15th 2022 via Precipitous Records. Her first single from the album, “The Money” has been released as a preview:
A White Album is Perry’s fifth collaboration with Mark Hallman, who serves as Producer and player of most of the instruments, at the Congress House in Austin, TX. Featuring guest appearances by Ben Lee, Akina Adderley, BettySoo and Wilco’s Mikael Jorgensen, the album also shows Perry taking a fresh look at her own family history through the lens of race in seven original songs and two covers. Perry is currently also at work on a stage version of A White Album directed by Kim Maxwell.
Perry was diagnosed at age 22 with rheumatoid arthritis, a degenerative illness that damages the joints, and lost the ability to play guitar, stepping away from music to focus on her health and raising a family. Perry eventually came back to music by learning to delegate the instrumentation to other musicians. She formed her own label Precipitous Records to release her first homegrown album, Balance, as well as producing a local music festival and a concert series.
In 2016, Perry produced and directed The Shopkeeper, a documentary about the impact on the music business of the streaming economy, featuring Ani DiFranco and a host of Austin artists, and appeared at dozens of screenings and panels to talk about artists’ rights.
At home in California, Perry co-founded Ventura County’s CFROG (Climate First, Replacing Oil & Gas) in 2014. In 2017, the Family Separation Policy spurred Perry to form Every Child Returned, a multi-state vigil in front of facilities holding separated children and babies. She co-managed a Houston field office for Beto O’Rourke’s 2018 Senate campaign and worked as a Digital Organizing Director for Mission for Arizona in 2020. She currently serves as Board President of The Townies, Inc., a storytelling collective in Ojai, CA.
