Canadian roots-blues-rocker Rachelle van Zanten has spent most of her life on the International Rock ‘n Roll Highway, paving the way for the next generation of female rock musicians. Her “punishing slide guitar” has her listed as “one of Canada’s best slide guitarists” (Randy Bachman) and garnered her the fitting description of “Lucinda Williams meets Led Zepplin.”
As an acclaimed songwriter and recording artist, she is loved for her “straight from the heart, gutsy, and intimate” songs that “give voice to thunder and fire the hearts” of those who share her passionate callings (Wade Davis, National Geographic). Van Zanten co-fronted the notable all-female rock band, Painting Daisies until 2005; has performed with Feist, Blue Rodeo, Clarence Gatemouth Brown and Sue Foley; and has opened for the Indigo Girls, Eagle Eye Cherry and Dar Williams. She has toured across Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, India and Nepal and carries a deep and loyal fan base.
Currently, Van Zanten is combining her music career with her new self-defined role as “badass northern BC bush mother”, raising kids and chickens and teaching indigenous youth to to ski and ride the trails in her rural hometown in northern BC.