about

Louisiana-born artist and folk singer-songwriter Rachel Toups spins tales of nature – from geologic processes to the human heart. A self-taught guitarist, Toups’ practice is shaped by a familial background in south Louisiana folk, jazz, and blues traditions, formal training in classical and contemporary choral music, and engagement in ambient and experimental music scenes on the West Coast - not to mention a love for fantasy books and the outdoors. In their music, Toups weaves a sound that has been described as “a captivating mix of soothing and creepy” embodying a “joyful mysticism” which seeks to invite the listener into another world, which like a dream may not be linear or narratively driven, but rather a collection of feelings and images that, together, build a story for the soul to step into.

Toups also works in a variety of other media including drawing, collage, installation, and performance. Drawing on a background in improvisational theater and storytelling, Toups uses playfulness as means by which to explore the richness of our human experience.

Rachel Toups was a 2025 artist-in-residence at Held Horizon in Cisco, UT, 2021 Church of Noise funded artist, a 2018 artist-in-residence at Prairie Ronde in Vicksburg, Michigan, and graduated from San Francisco Art Institute in 2013 with a BFA in New Genres.