| WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012 | | Rena Wren News April 2012 |
Hey, Rena Wrenites! How is your year going?? Things are great here. Just wanted to catch you up on a few things! Here's What!!
FIRST, tomorrow night we have an awesome songwriter showcase at The Big Chill featuring Eric Britt (www.cdbaby.com/ericbritt) and headliner Christine DeMeo (www.facebook.com/thechristinedemeo). ALSO!!! Special Guest AMY GARLAND will be in the house with a few of her tunes and she and Rena may even sing a diddy together just for YOU! www.thebigchillhotsprings.com. 8 pm-Midnite. Free Entry. 21+.
FRIDAY Night - Rena Wren & The Good Guys (FULL BAND) at MacDaddy's in North Little Rock (see address in calendar below). Gonna be a rockin' fun night and we are breaking boundaries being an Indie-Pop band opening for two kickin' country bands, Exit 111 and Dry County. YOU WILL WANT TO CATCH THIS SHOW!!!!! We play at 9 pm. $5 at the door. 21+.
In other news, we will be launching a Pledge Music campaign soon where you, the fans, can directly make a pledge to support us in finishing our CD with all kinds of exclusives just for you, including an opportunity to receive a special release of Rena's song "Mi Amor," a hand-drawn TEE just for pledgors, one of Rena's pencil drawings, have Rena write a song just for you, or even have a house concert in your home for you and your friends! Keep an eye out for the email that says "Pledge Music" in the headline to learn more about how YOU can help RW & Team finish the album!!!
As always, thank you for your support and for being the BEST FANS EVER!!! Much love! And we hope to see you reeeeeaaaaallll soon. :o)
xo,
rw & team | | Apr 04, 2012 @ 8:45 PM | 0 comment(s) |
| | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2012 | | Rena Wren Hits LA for Awards and Concert! |
Rena Wren Hits L.A. for Artists in Music Awards and San Pedro concert!
Rena Wren, an award-winning singer-songwriter from Hot Springs, Arkansas, returns to the L.A. area this February for a jam-packed line-up of fun and festive shows! Since her last visit, Rena was awarded a very prestigious Individual Artist Fellowship by the Arkansas Arts Council, a generous one time financial contribution to the artistry of her music. Rena is hard at work on a new CD and is grateful to be able to utilize the grant funds to support her project. Rena's music is often characterized as having "something for everyone" and "reaching across genres to unify the masses." If classification is a must, then Rena would likely fall into the Folk Rock/Indie Pop/Americana genres. Her organic approach to songwriting, "from her Soul's Earth," draws in crowds of all ages and backgrounds for a fun evening of stories through song. Her musical theater background provides a strong basis for the witty lyrics and juxtaposition of song style and mood.
Join Rena and friends this summer at:
· Artists in Music Awards at The Key Club in Los Angeles on February 10th at 8:00 p.m. Rena is nominated in the Songwriter and Folk categories. Tickets are $25 for event and $35 for event and after party and may be purchased online at http://aimusicawards.ticketleap.com/t/aima/. For more event info, visit www.aimusicawards.com.
· Steve Key’s Songwriters at Play at The Porch in Santa Margarita on Feb. 9th at 7:00 p.m. More info at www.songwritersatplay.com
· Rena Wren Live in Concert at the Croatian Cultural Center of Greater Los Angeles located in the beautiful San Pedro, CA on Feb. 11th at 8:00 p.m. Catch award-winning Singer/Songwriter Rena Wren for an intimate evening of stories and song at this lovely concert space in San Pedro. Rena will be joined by Rodgey Roach on bass and vocals. Rena's songs are eclectic and appeal to a universal audience in the styles of Americana, Indie Pop, and Folk Rock. Rena's music has been compared to Colbie Caillat, Kina Grannis, Nora Jones and the Indigo Girls. At the end of the show, Rena and Rodg will do a short "talk back" and answer audience questions regarding the songwriting process and the biz of being a performing songwriter. Rena's CD "Sweet Mystery" will be available for purchase as well as some of Rena's pencil drawings. Hosted by Scott Gray and produced by Dragonfly Songwriter Showcase. Tickets $10 available at http://renawren2012.eventbrite.com. More artist info at www.renawren.com. Venue info at www.croatianculture.org/portal and on Facebook.
Rena's CD, "Sweet Mystery," is a fun record about life, love, whimsy, and all the serendipitous extremes experienced in the myriad of relationships in life. Rena is also working on a new full length CD entitled "Incognito Baby" that will be released later this year. A must see! Rena's music and information are at www.renawren.com.
| | Feb 03, 2012 @ 7:41 PM | 0 comment(s) |
| | TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2011 | | Arkansas Arts Fellowship Award, Compilation CD & Appearances!! | Hi, everyone! Thanks for taking a moment to connect with our music happenings!
Breaking News:
I am extremely humbled and happy to announce that the Arkansas Arts Council has awarded me an Individual Artist Fellowship for recognition of creative excellence in Music Composition in the Folk genre. The award is a one-time, unconditional financial contribution and will allow us to finish "Incognito Baby" in the coming months! Please visit www.arkansasarts.org to read more about the fantastic ways the Council supports local artists. Also in breaking news, this morning I was notified that one of my songs has been selected for the Art of Noise Compilation Album Series. I will keep you posted on the album release and song details!!
Upcoming Shows:
This Friday, Sept. 2nd, Rodg and I will be playing another duo acoustic show at WORDS & AFTERWORDS in Hardy, AR from 7 pm til 9 pm. FREE ENTRY - All Ages. This is one of our favorite places to play. The staff, food and ambience are excellent! Please visit www.wordsafterwords.com for more menu and other info on this wonderful songwriter venue.
September 10th we will once again take the Mt. Ida Front Porch Stage (outdoors) in Mt. Ida, Arkansas for a fun and frenzied night of Country/Americana original music. We are mixing it up this time with a more acoustic sound! Rodg on bass, me on acoustic guitar, Dave on acoustic drums (darbouka and djembe) and introducing Roxi on Viola. Show starts at 7. Free entry and tip if you can! CDs available for a summer discount price of $5!!! More info at www.frontporchstage.org. Bring a chair or blanket!!
Dragonfly Songwriter Showcase:
In other news, Dragonfly Songwriter Showcase is still taking the original music scene by storm!! Here are some shows to look forward to:
In Hot Springs, catch BIG CHILL FIRST THURSDAYS 8 pm til Midnite - Songwriting acts from all over the world! Coming up on Sept. 1st we have Treva Blomquist (www.trevamusic.com) with Opening at Justin Patterson (www.justinpattersonsongs.com). Laura Lynn & Friends SECOND THURSDAYS at THE LOFT on Sept. 8th from 7-9 promises to be fun and whimsical as always!! Also at The Big Chill on October 6th, we have two awesome chick songwriters from Nashville, Ashlee K Thomas (www.ashleekthomas.com) and Karen Waldrup (www.karenwaldrup.com). The girls will be featured that morning on "Good Morning Arkansas" on KATV Ch. 7 in Little Rock. Tune in to hear this dynamic duo! Karen was recently featured on the new hit Bravo show with Jewel and Kara DioGaurdi, "Platinum Hit" and she is also opening for Sara Evans on Aug. 6th here in Arkansas! We are so thrilled to have them both that we are bringing you a double whammy of their talent! We have teamed up with Khalil's Pub in Little Rock (www.khalilspub.com) to host them for a night of songwriting on Friday night, October 7th from 7-9 pm. Thanks to Charlie Crow's Songwriter nights at Khalil's, the venue is becoming quite the hot spot for original music! All of these shows are 21+ and have free entry. For complete info on DSS Events, please visit www.renawren.com/dragonfly.
Check out the "KIND" tees below! There is something for everyone! Your purchase of a KIND tee helps spread the kind word globally!!!
As always, thank you for being part of this newsletter and continuing to support live original music!
"If you will listen I will try to sing you the song of my heart."
Namaste & great day,
Rena Wren & Team | | Aug 30, 2011 @ 2:36 PM | 0 comment(s) |
| | SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011 | | Cali Trip, Radio Play, Record Deal & Video & Other News! | Hi, everybody! Long time no chat! Quite a few things to tell you about my trip AND some new exciting news!! First, I have some big announcements to make, but can't give you all the details yet. Just know it involves a digital record deal and a really cool video project. Details coming SOON! "Red Dress" was recently featured on Rick Mizuno's "Indies in Motion" show on L.A. Talk Radio Ch. 2 (www.latalkradio.com). I met Rick at my show at The Talking Stick in Venice Beach, CA and he offered me a feature, so I will be a guest on his show in September. Check out his great work for Indie artists at www.indiesinmotion.com. Also, I am getting some airplay on www.radiogetswild.com and on www.irmgradio.com! And thanks to my licensing deal with APM Music, I learned yesterday that "Random Matter" was chosen by a non-profit company to be featured in their video contest entry for TOYOTA's "100 Cars for Good" campaign. I will have more details on that soon!! Thanks so much for your continued support and for believing in my music!
Okay, so the California tour was nothing short of SPECTACULAR!! I drove in my new ECO-friendly Chevy Cruze (Thanks Russ & Allen Tillery Chevrolet!) from Hot Springs all the way to Southern California and had an awesome roadtrip. I even started a new song called "Truckers & Tumbleweeds" on my way out, cuz that is basically all I saw between Texas and California! Once in Cali, I stayed at a beyond charming and perfect cottage one block from the beach in San Pedro (out of hustle and bustle of city with 70 degree weather the entire trip). Learn about the owner's beach cottages here: www.aideaworks.com or search "MCBCS" on Facebook. A brief recap of shows:
June 25th - SOLD OUT standing room only show at the legendary House of Blues Foundation Room on Sunset Blvd. Meredith did a great job promoting the show because random people in L.A. kept telling me they had heard of me and had seen me on Facebook. I was even asked if I had recently appeared on The Jay Leno Show! LOL! Now THAT would be fun! Special thanks to Jay Matsueda for sitting in on lead guitar (www.jaymatsueda.com), and to Meredith and all her fab friends for coming out in full force and to Margie for bringing out her friends and tenants!!
June 27th - Super fun show at The Talking Stick with Ms. Laura Lynn Danley and Jay Matsueda. Special thanks to Matt Moran Band for closing the show and to Toni Koch and TK Promo Presents for booking this!
July 2nd - Kulak's Woodshed - Justin Patterson, Laura Lynn Danley and my wonderful husband Rodgey joined me for this Songwriters In the Round show and many of you across the country tuned in for the live webcast. Thanks to Jay Matsueda for opening the show and thanks to all of you who listened and especially for the generous donations to the venue that some of you made. We will each soon have video of our songs from this night available on YouTube.
July 3rd - By FAR the most rewarding experience of the tour was having the honor of playing at The Gentle Barn's Vegan BBQ & Benefit in Santa Clarita, CA. Laura, Justin, Rodg and I played for the lovely patrons and animals of The Gentle Barn against a backdrop of running horses, beautiful mountains, clear skies, and just sheer joy. See a video of the horses running and playing here: http://youtu.be/L4GzGSKiBlI or visit www.youtube.com/renawren. I got to meet and take a picture of Ellen & Portia's cows, Madonna and Holy and I played with dogs, horses, an emu, chickens, turkeys, sheep, goats, cows and more! Also, the vegan fare provided by Southern Fried Vegan was out of this world. Check them out at www.southernfriedveganbbq.com. I enjoyed the mac & cheez and fried pickles! Special thanks to Steven Leavitt who did an incredible job on sound and to Ellie and her amazing crew at The Gentle Barn. Be sure to visit www.thegentlebarn.org to learn all about their heroic rescue of neglected and abused animals and their work with special needs children. Also, search THE GENTLE BARN on Facebook and "LIKE" them!
In other news, Dragonfly Songwriter Showcase is really taking off and getting national interest! Here are some things to look forward to:
In Hot Springs, catch BIG CHILL FIRST THURSDAYS 8 pm til Midnite - Songwriting acts from all over the world! Coming up on Sept. 1st we have Treva Blomquist (www.trevamusic.com) with Opening at Justin Patterson (www.justinpattersonsongs.com). Also at The Big Chill on October 6th, we have two awesome chick songwriters from Nashville, Ashlee K Thomas (www.ashleekthomas.com) and Karen Waldrup (www.karenwaldrup.com). The girls will be featured that morning on "Good Morning Arkansas" on KATV Ch. 7 in Little Rock. Tune in to hear this dynamic duo! Karen was recently featured on the new hit Bravo show with Jewel and Kara DioGaurdi, "Platinum Hit" and she is also opening for Sara Evans on Aug. 6th here in Arkansas! We are so thrilled to have them both that we are bringing you a double whammy of their talent! We have teamed up with Khalil's Pub in Little Rock (www.khalilspub.com) to host them for a night of songwriting on Friday night, October 7th from 7-9 pm. Thanks to Charlie Crow's Songwriter nights at Khalil's, the venue is becoming quite the hot spot for original music! All of these shows are 21+ and have free entry. Also, remember that Laura Lynn's Second Thursdays at The Poet's Loft in Hot Springs is really taking off!! For more info on these and other Dragonfly events, please visit www.renawren.com/dragonfly.
Check out the "KIND" tees to the left of the blog and on the MERCH page! There is something for everyone! Your purchase of a KIND tee helps spread the kind word globally!!!
As always, thank you for being part of this newsletter and continuing to support live original music!
"It's not a token part, it's my broken, broken heart."
Namaste & great day,
Rena Wren & Team | | Jul 30, 2011 @ 2:55 PM | 0 comment(s) |
| | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2011 | | PRESS RELEASE - Rena Wren Hits L.A. for House of Blues & More! | Rena Wren Hits L.A. for House of Blues, Benefits & More!
Rena Wren, a singer-songwriter from Hot Springs, Arkansas, returns to the L.A. area this summer for a jam-packed line-up of fun and festive shows! Rena's music is often characterized as having "something for everyone" and "reaching across genres to unify the masses." If classification is a must, then Rena would likely fall into the Folk Rock/Indie Pop/Americana genres. Her organic approach to songwriting, "from her Soul's Earth," draws in crowds of all ages and backgrounds for a fun evening of stories through song. Her musical theater background provides a strong basis for the witty lyrics and juxtaposition of song style and mood.
Join Rena and friends this summer at:
· House of Blues on Sunset (Foundation Room VIP) on June 25th at 10:00 p.m., w/ Jay Matsueda (www.jaymatsueda.com). Tickets are $10 and may be purchased online at http://renawrenlive.eventbrite.com or via regular mail by emailing renawren@yahoo.com or making payment at Paypal to renawren@yahoo.com.
· "TK Promo Presents" show at The Talking Stick in Venice, CA (www.thetalkingstick.net), a feature showcase sponsored by Toni Koch on June 27th at 7:00 p.m., with friends Jay Matsueda, Laura Lynn Danley (www.lauralynnmusic.com), and Matt Moran Band (www.matthewmoranonline.com).
· Benefit Concert for Kulak's Woodshed in N. Hollywood (www.kulakswoodshed.com) July 2nd, with Jay Matsueda, Laura Lynn Danley, Justin Patterson (www.justinpattersonsongs.com) and Rodgey Roach (www.myspace.com/rodgeyroach). Suggested donation $10.00 at the door. Kulak's is a renowned songwriter venue in the area and operates solely on donations. Come show your support for Paul and his awesome listening room.
· Vegan BBQ and Benefit Concert for The Gentle Barn on July 3rd from 10 a.m. til 2 p.m. Rena Wren & Friends are proud to support this animal sanctuary in Santa Clarita, California, which has gained national attention in the past few months with support from Ellen DeGeneres and Portia DeRossi, among others. For more information on The Gentle Barn and their work with animals and children, please visit www.thegentlebarn.org.
Rena's CD, "Sweet Mystery," is a fun record about life, love, whimsy, and all the serendipitous extremes experienced in the myriad of relationships in life. Rena is also working on a new full length CD entitled "Incognito Baby" that will be released later this year. A must see! Rena's music and information are at www.renawren.com.
| | Jun 15, 2011 @ 1:15 PM | 0 comment(s) |
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