Story of the Rocking Rainbows 2019 – 2025
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v26i2.4430Parole chiave:
community music therapy, disabled musicians, performance, empowermentAbstract
The Rocking Rainbows is a music band that began in 2019, blending therapeutic musicmaking with a spirit of collaboration and self-expression. What started as a simple idea between Reg (band member) and Sophie (music therapist), soon grew into a band with three other members: Michael, Matthew and Ina, the latest joining in 2024 and bringing a new musical energy with his Pacific Island drum (pātē). The story of the band is shaped by the voices of disabled musicians who have used music as a tool to build confidence, express emotions, and navigate challenges. Through collaborative songwriting, the band created songs inspired by personal experiences, relationships, struggles, and joy. Their performances at events like the New Zealand Fringe Festival and Newtown Festival in Wellington, New Zealand allowed them to share their music with wider audiences, building self-esteem and fostering a sense of community. The band’s journey highlights the power of music to connect, grow, and inspire, turning obstacles into opportunities for growth. The Rocking Rainbows’ evolution is a testament to the transformative nature of music and its potential to empower disabled individuals, to promote their creativity and share it with the world.
Notes
All the people involved in this paper have chosen to keep their real names and to share the fruit of their work in music therapy as well as in public performances. Before publishing this article, we discussed in clear terms that photos, videos, and text presented here would be publicly accessible. All participants gave informed consent to be publicly identified, a decision that reflects their sense of ownership, pride, and agency over the music they create. As Krüger and Murphy (2023) emphasise, acknowledging clients’ rights to their creative work is not only an ethical requirement but also an opportunity to strengthen their sense of identity and authorship.
The Rocking Rainbows take great pride in sharing their musical journey. They are proud of the work they do, the music they compose, record, and perform and they value opportunities to share their talent with the wider world. As Krüger (2018) notes, the act of public performance can be deeply validating, allowing creators to “stand out as someone worth listening to, with a voice and a story to tell” (p. 473). The purpose of this article is to serve as a platform for the band members’ voices and perspectives, giving them rightful authorship, visibility, and agency over their own narrative. Their decision to appear publicly and to be credited for their creative work
reflects a core value in community music therapy: that disabled individuals have the right to be heard, recognised, and celebrated as artists.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Sophie Sabri, Reg, Ina, Michael, Matthew
TQuesto lavoro è fornito con la licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione 4.0 Internazionale.
Articles published prior to 2019 are subject to the following license, see: https://voices.no/index.php/voices/copyright
