Rachel Grimes is a composer, pianist, and arranger based in Kentucky who creates music for chamber ensembles, orchestras, film, multi-media installations, and collaborative live performances. Heralded “one of American independent music’s few truly inspired technicians” by WIRE magazine, she has toured worldwide as a solo pianist, and as a collaborator with various artists/ensembles, and has frequently appeared at the Big Ears Festival. Her work has been performed by the Louisville Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Knoxville Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Lexington Philharmonic, A Far Cry, Longleash Trio, Tessa Lark, and the Dublin Guitar Quartet among others.

Recent releases include NPR’s Top Ten Albums of 2022 pick and Grammy-nominated The Blue Hour (co-created with Angélica Negrón, Shara Nova, Caroline Shaw, Sarah Kirkland Snider on Nonesuch/New Amsterdam Records 2022), The Way Forth, a folk opera and film tracing generations of Kentucky history through women’s voices (Temporary Residence 2019), Wove It Into Cloth (Deutsche Grammophon 2019), and the soundtrack to The Doctor From India (2018). She is a member of King’s Daughters & Sons (Chemikal Underground), and was a founding member of the ground-breaking indie chamber group Rachel’s with whom she released six albums (Quarterstick/Touch and Go Records).

Rachel is a multi-generational Kentuckian interested in how genealogy and history research can lead to social change. She is a Board member of the African-American Genealogy Group of KY (AAGGKY), a member of the Port William Historical Society, the Filson Historical Society, Madison County Historical Society, and Fort Boonesborough Foundation.

Festivals: Big Ears, Witching Hour, Ecstatic Music Festival, Substrata, All Tomorrow’s Parties (curated by Shellac), P Festival in Taipei, Festival of Faiths, Forecastle, Kilkenny Arts Festival, and CrossLinx

Collaborators: A Far Cry, Loscil, SITI Company, astrïd and Sylvain Chauveau, Julia Kent and Peter Liversidge, Chris Wells, Scott Moore, Jacob Duncan, Teddy Abrams, Jecorey Arthur, Matthew Nolan and Erik Friedlander, Orchestra Enigmatic, Portland Cello Project, Cicada, Orchestra Kandinskij, Borusan Quartet and Önder sisters, Amsterdam Sinfonietta Trio, Timbre Cierpke and SONUS, NouLou Chamber Players, Music for a Purpose

Solo releases:  The Way Forth (Instrumentals) (Temporary Residence 2020),  The Way Forth (Temporary Residence Ltd. 2019), Wove It Into Cloth (single/LP comp. on Deutsche Grammophon 2019), The Doctor From India (soundtrack 2018), Through the Sparkle (with astrïd on Gizeh Records 2017), The Clearing (Temporary Residence Ltd. 2015), Book of Leaves, Marion County 1938, and Compound Leaves 

Contributions to the albums of fellow artists:  Watter, Dawn Landes, Giant Sands, We/Or/Me, Christopher Tignor, Seluah, Joan Shelley, Nathan Salsburg, Christian Frederickson, Tara Jane O’Neil, Shipping News, Dianogah, PerMission, Joe Manning, Memory Drawings, Big Eyes Family Players, Liberation Prophesy, Shannon Wright, Helen Money, R. M. Hubbert + Aiden Moffat, and the Frames.

Member of Louisville rock bands:  King’s Daughters & Sons (Chemikal Underground), Lemonade Hayride, Hula Hoop, and Rachel’s (Quarterstick / Touch & Go).

Scoring and Licensing:   Scoring, research, and recordings for multi-media installations for Donna Lawrence Productions (Museum of World Religions, Kentucky Show!, Kentucky Derby Museum, National Infantry Museum, New York Historical Society). Scores for “Our Day” the Center for Home Movies, and “The Doctor From India” directed by Jeremy Frindel. Recordings licensed to numerous film and TV works internationally including the director Goh Iromoto, and films Vice Principles, Listen to Me Marlon, Lost In Vagueness, War Machine, Actress, HBO series Witness, Any Given Sunday, Hancock, An Affair of Love, Gasland and Gasland II (HBO), Last Days Here, The New Pope and Academy Award and Golden Globe winner La Grande Bellezza both by Paolo Sorrentino.

Her works are published by Mossgrove Music (BMI).

Photo by Jessie Kriech-Higdon