Born in tornado alley, raised between mountains in Montana, and now residing in Toronto, Rachael Cardiello sings of cross-border living, mental institutions, love, ghosts, and an eclectic history of homes in an alternative version of the American dream.

With the release of her first full length album, Warm Electric Winter, Cardiello breaks away from her classical and folk roots and dives into a bold, neon landscape heavily influenced by Motown and soul. Equal parts intimate and fierce, Rachael leads her heavy-weight jazz-trained band with a viola in hand and swing in her style. With two tours through the USA and Canada under their belts, including folk festivals in BC and Manitoba, rooftops in New York, dirty Montana bars, San Francisco’s Hotel Utah, Vancouver’s Railway Club and Toronto venues such as the Rivoli, Cameron House, Piston and Dakota Tavern, Cardiello and her Warm Electric Winter band have been turning heads and jiving up dance floors.

"Cardiello's show exceeded our expectations in every way.
The band was tight, the energy was electric, and they brought a driving dance party to the mainstage."
-Adam Iredale-Gray, Artistic Director, Campbell Bay Music Fest

Rachael has toured, collaborated and recorded extensively in both Canada and the USA with a variety of artists. Cardiello most recently toured as a backup singer for The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer (www.harpoonistaxemurderer.com) and as an organist for Miss Quincy and the Showdown (http://missquincy.ca) in a three week tour from Vancouver to Winnipeg. For two summers, Cardiello toured as Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra’s “Minigun” and collaborated with them on a sold out, multi-media folk-rock opera called There Once Was a Girl. Other collaborations include Gabrielle Papillon, David Newberry, Jenny Berkel, Sarah Jane Scouten, Blue Sky Miners, Anna Atkinson, and Humble Wonder Theatre. Recording credits include Chloe Charles, James Burrows, and Georgia Straight. Music from her 2011 EP One for the Wind was featured in a short film called The Things I Want to Tell You which debuted in New York on September 30th, 2012.