Reb Fountain

Reb Fountain (born June 1973) is an American-born New Zealand singer and songwriter known for her blend of alternative folk, country and pop-rock music.

She first rose to prominence as a teenager, when she was labelled the "best voice to come out of Christchurch" in 1990. She subsequently disappeared from the music scene until the release of her 2006 debut album Like Water, and its 2008 follow up Holster. She stepped away from her solo career for close to a decade, before returning with her 2017 award-winning EP Hopeful & Hopeless.

A major breakthrough came in 2020 after signing with Flying Nun Records and releasing the self-titled Reb Fountain; the album went on to win the 2021 Taite Music Prize, as well as nominations for the Silver Scroll and five Aotearoa Music Awards.

She released her fifth studio album Iris in 2021, followed by How Love Bends in March 2025.

Early life and education

Reb Fountain was born June 1973 in San Francisco, USA.

Fountain comes from a long line of migrants; her grandmother had immigrated from Ukraine to Canada, before walking across the border into the United States. Music was an important part of her childhood, and her family used music to connect with other families. She began singing with her parents from a young age and received her first guitar at 5 years old. As a finalist in 1990's Battle of the Bands contest she was labelled "the best voice to come out of Christchurch in ten years". At 17, after she began drinking more heavily and mixing alcohol with prescription medication, she was admitted into an alcohol rehab clinic at Queen Mary Hospital in Hanmer Springs. She was asked to leave before completing treatment as she refused to leave an "inappropriate" relationship, and although the twelve-step program didn't resonate with her, she stopped drinking and credited the experience for helping shift her perspective on life. She recorded a "shiteload of songs", with the ones finished first making it onto the album. She describes the works as "two sides of the same coin", Once lockdown was lifted, Reb and band went to Sublime Studios in Kurow to record a new album.

Fountain released her Flying Nun sophomore album, Iris, in October 2021. Her planned tour was postponed due to Auckland's third COVID-19 lockdown.

In 2024, Fountain partnered with composer Andrew Keoghan to create the score of TVNZ's Escaping Utopia, a three-part miniseries on Gloriavale. The soundtrack featured a mix of new compositions written for the show along with music Fountain had previously released. Fountain and Keoghan went on to win the Best Original Score for the soundtrack at the 2024 New Zealand Screen Awards.

2025: How Love Bends In March 2025, Fountain released her sixth studio album, How Love Bends "Come Down" was her highest charting single, and was nominated for Single of the Year at the 2025 Aotearoa Music Awards. and for Album of the Year at the 2026 Aotearoa Music Awards.

Personal life Fountain raised two children as a single mother, and would often bring them with her when busking around Auckland. Her son, Kalvin Fountain-Best, is an artist and photographer who has designed artwork for some of her releases,

Top 40 Aotearoa Top 20

2006 — — Label: Fountain Records Format: CD

2008 — — Label: Fountain Records Format: CD

2017 36 7 Label: Fountain Records Format: CD, Vinyl

2017 — 5 Label: Fountain Records Format: CD, Vinyl

2020 3 2 Label: Flying Nun Records Format: CD, Vinyl

2021 3 1 Label: Flying Nun Records Format: CD, Vinyl

2024 — — With Andrew Keoghan

2025 6 1 Label: Flying Nun Records Format: CD, vinyl

— —

9 — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Selected singles "Gold" (2017) "Faster" (2020) "Samson" (2020) "When Gods Lie" (2020) "Don't You Know Who I Am" (2020) "Hawks & Doves (Tali remix)" (2021) "Heart" (2021) "Beastie" (2021) "Lacuna" (2021) "Iris" (2021) "Invisible Man" (2021) "Faithless Lover" (2023) "Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (cover)" (2023) "How Bizarre (cover)" (2024) "Come Down" (2024) "Forever" (2024) "Nothing Like" (2025) "City" (2025) "He Commands You To Jump Into The Sea" (2025) "Silver Linings" (2025) "One Way Trip" (2025) "Christmas in Wellington" (cover) (2025)

Awards and nominations