'RENAISSANCE 2009' 40th Anniversary Concert Tour

For Immediate Release
September 15, 2009

In celebration of their 1969 formation, English "classical rock" pioneers Renaissance are embarking on a special 40th Anniversary Fall Concert Tour to re-introduce to new generations the lush, orchestral favorites that made them a staple of 1970s progressive rock radio.

Led by Annie Haslam and Michael Dunford, the voice and principal songwriter, respectively, of the band’s most popular lineup, RENAISSANCE 2009 will mount a nine-city East Coast tour of theaters and performing arts centers that kicks off Oct. 6 in Annapolis, MD, and includes New York, Philadelphia and Washington, home to the nation’s top progressive rock stations during the classic Renaissance era.
 
"I'm thrilled to be performing these truly unique masterpieces again," says Haslam, whose five-octave voice is one of the most legendary in rock history. “These songs are a big part of my life and I will sing my heart out."

Joining Haslam and Dunford in RENAISSANCE 2009 are keyboardist Rave Tesar and bassist-vocalist David J. Keyes, both of whom were previous members of Renaissance and the Annie Haslam Band, plus keyboardist-vocalist Tom Brislin (Yes, Debbie Harry, Meat Loaf, Francis Dunnery) and drummer-percussionist Frank Pagano (Bruce Springsteen, Smashing Pumpkins, Bette Midler, Barry Manilow). Together, these world class musicians will revisit the symphonic textures, stunning vocals and poetic lyrics that embody the band’s hauntingly compelling international themes, with fresh interpretations of their most admired compositions. “Carpet of the Sun,” “Ocean Gypsy,” “Mother Russia,” "Ashes Are Burning," “Running Hard,” “Prologue,” and "Northern Lights" are central to Renaissance’s most prolific period (1972-78), which produced the albums Prologue, Ashes Are Burning, Turn of the Cards, Novella, Scheherazade and Other Stories, and A Song for All Seasons, as well as 'Live' at Carnegie Hall (1976), the deluxe two-disc set recently reissued.  

Renaissance originally rose from the ashes of the Yardbirds, with Haslam and Dunford joining at the dawn of the 1970s to define their work with folk rock and classical fusions, including quotations from and allusions to, such composers as Bach, Chopin, Debussy, and Rachmaninoff. It wasn ’t long before influential progressive rock FM stations like WNEW (New York), WMMR (Philadelphia) and WHFS (Washington) were turning on America to Renaissance, while the band was thrilling concertgoers on the world’s most distinguished stages, from Carnegie Hall in New York City to the Royal Albert Hall in London.
 
"We've wanted to bring these songs to American audiences again and now with these great musicians," adds Michael Dunford, "I'm looking forward to it with great anticipation."

Rams Head Onstage, 33 West Street, Annapolis, MD - Tuesday, October 6 at 8:00 PM
Ticket prices N/A. Tickets ON SALE NOW. Tickets can be purchased at: 410-268-4545 Phone Hours: Mon - Sun 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. EDST. Applicable processing fees and tax not included in ticket price.

German House Theater, Rochester, NY - Thursday, October 8 at 8:00 PM
Ticket prices N/A. Ticket and venue information coming soon.

The Concert Hall, 2 West 64th Street, New York, NY - Friday, October 9 at 8:00 PM – SOLD OUT!
Tickets:$45. Tickets ON SALE NOW through Ticketmaster.com.

Keswick Theatre, Glenside, PA - Sunday, October 11 at 7:30 PM – SOLD OUT!
Ticket prices are $39 and $49. Preferred seating available. Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster retail outlets or at (800) 745-3000. Tickets are also available at Keswick Theatre Box Office, keswicktheatre.com and 215-572-7650.

The Birchmere, 3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria, VA - Monday, October 12 at 8:00 PM
Ticket prices N/A. Tickets on sale soon.

The Egg - Center for the Performing Arts, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY -
Tuesday, October 13 at 8:00 PM – SOLD OUT!
Ticket prices N/A. Tickets on sale soon. Box office 518-473-1845

Whitaker Center, Harrisburg, PA - Wednesday, October 14 at 7:30 PM
Ticket prices are $35 and $45. Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster retail outlets or at (800) 745-3000. Tickets are also available at Whitaker Center Box Office, whitakercenter.org and 717-214-2787.

South Orange Performing Arts Center, South Orange, NJ - Friday, October 16 at 8:00 PM – SOLD OUT!
Ticket prices are $45 and $55. Tickets can be purchaesd by phone @ 973-313-ARTS (2787). $4.00 per ticket service charge applies for all phone orders or go to www.SOPACNOW.Org.

The Xanadu Theater in the Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, NJ -
Saturday, October 17 at 8:00 PM
Ticket prices are $49, $39, $29 plus limited preferred seating available. Tickets ON SALE NOW. They will be available at the Trump Taj Mahal Box Office, Ticketmaster.com, and all TicketMaster outlets, or charge by phone 1-800-745-3000.

Jann Klose to Open for Renaissance

Renaissance is proud to announce that singer songwriter Jann Klose will be their opening act for their Fall tour.

You can read more about Jann at www.jannklose.com and www.myspace.com/jannklose

New RENAISSANCE CD 'DREAMS and OMENS'
'Live' at the Tower Theater, Philadelphia, PA, 1978

Dear Friends,

The CD is a 'live' show from 1978. It has lots of atmosphere and represents one of the major highlights in our career as a band. Full of energy and passion...

Please check out at: www.fridaymusic.com

It is also downloadable on iTunes and available in record stores.

Annie's painting, 'Edge of Paradise', was used for the CD cover and artwork. A Giclee print on canvas of the painting is available for purchase in the 'Art for Sale' section of this site. Scroll down the art page to the Giclee section.

Love,

Annie’s thoughts on Sellersville Theatre show,
September 20th 2008

Dear Friends,

The month of September was spectacular in many ways!!!

I got to spend some quality time with my former Renaissance band mate and friend, John Tout, and also got to perform with a great singer/songwriter Jann Klose at the Sellersville Theatre, PA. From the moment John stepped off the plane, to going back exactly one month later, it was a time I will remember always.

Leading up to the show was fun and tiring at the same time. Very intense, especially the side splitting laughter incurred by watching BBC America's comedy shows, including Monty Python's Flying Circus. John and I were always the 'gigglers' in the band.

Watching MPFC was our daily treat after many hours spent listening to, and singing along to, John playing the piano in my den... glorious to hear after all these years (30 to be exact)... John still has that special touch - a unique style - sensitive but powerful too!

The show was sold out and many people jokingly said it was a 'Love Fest'... I would tend to agree. The atmosphere in the theatre during the evening was very warm and friendly. Quite 'touching'.

Jann performed his songs with powerful ease (what a voice!!!!), washing over the audience like a summer's breeze. The fans loved him and rightly so!

JT and I played and sang on four of Jann's songs. We both really enjoyed that as his songs are so melodic and fresh... and then we moved on to some Renaissance pieces. John hadn't performed the Renaissance songs for 30 years and I hadn't sang for a while, so we were both a little nervous (JT more than me and understandably so)...

We had some fun on stage and personally had a daunting moment when my voice broke at the beginning of Ocean Gypsy!!!! So what did I do? Of course I decided to sing a jazzy version of it to relieve the nerves pounding away inside me from the faux pas...

After I pulled myself together and laughing a bit, we started the song again in the correct manner... JT and I exchanging looks of both terror and relief!!!! You had to be there to see it! When the show was over (it went way too quickly), it was equally fun meeting the fans, signing CD's and old albums and generally mingling...

Jann's band were wonderful to work with - talented and patient!

Band members:
Chris Marlof - Upright and Electric Basses and Vocals
Lars Potteiger - Keyboard, Accordion and Vocals
Leah Potteiger - Violin and Vocals
Patrick Carmichael - Drums, Percussion and Recorder

Anne Leighton, Jann's manager also worked tirelessly helping with interviews and the usual show related media 'stuff.'

The Sellersville Theatre in Sellersville, PA (www.st94.com) has a lovely, classy but cozy 325 seat auditorium, and friendly staff. The owner, William Quigley, is truly a 'STAR' himself. Personally, I have never known a more generous and thoughtful venue proprietor who has as much respect for musicians than he. The theatre has some very diverse acts come through it's doors - something for everyone - highly recommended by me!

Please check in on Jann's website at: www.jannklose.com for his upcoming shows and my site for updates on 'who knows what may be coming next' news!

My Christmas 'Holiday' show is on December 20th, hope to see you there. Show info: www.st94.com

As ever these days, I am painting away, loving it intensely, so bear in my mind I love to do commissions and the Holidays are coming up....mmmm what a nice unique gift that would be... :)

Thank you to everyone who came to the show and helping make it a memorable time for all of us.

Love and Peace,

Annie and Jann Perform 'LIVE' on Radio

Annie and Jann Klose on the web and 'steam radio'... this Friday, September 5th.

Annie and Jann perform 3 songs 'live', with interview by Gene Godfrey. Take a listen, information as follows:

Classic FM airs Fridays 6 - 10 p.m. EST (11pm-3am UK time) on 88.9 FM Burlington County and South Jersey. On the web worldwide at www.z889.org 
 
also at: www.myspace.com/classic_fm

The actual interview time will be around 8:15 p.m., but the whole show will be worth a listen.....

Very Nice 'Woman Transcending' Review

Check out another great review of Annie's new CD, 'Woman Transcending', by Matt Parish.

Click here

Annie to Sing with Starcastle

Annie will be making a guest appearance with US based progressive rock band STARCASTLE.
at the Rosfest, Pheonixville, PA, on Friday the 27th of April.

Annie is only performing one song, a duet, with lead singer Al Lewis called 'Song of Times' the title track from their new CD.

The show is dedicated to the memory of band leader Gary Strater.

Oliver Wakeman (Rick's son) is also playing keyboards with the band. Click here for more information.

Wonderful Review of Annie's New CD 'Woman Transcending'
Click here

Listen to Annie's New Interview

On Thursday, February 8, 2007, Annie Haslam will be featured on The Classical Connection, a weekly hour-long show that explores the relationships between progressive rock and classical music.  The show broadcasts via the Internet every Thursday at 2:00 USA Eastern time on Delicious Agony Progressive Rock Radio. 

Tune in this Thursday, February 8, to hear selections from throughout Annie's career, including tracks from her new release "Woman Transcending," along with some of her favorite classical music. 

For more information about the show, including playlists from all past episodes and several complete show downloads, visit www.creativeprogression.com/classi-prog.

Annie to SING at Sellersville Theater

Annie will be the special guest at the Sellersville Theater, Sellersville, PA  to help celebrate an evening of:

Wine, Women & Song

Featuring: LAUREN HART
with Amanda Kaletsky & Carsie Blanton

Special Guest: Annie Haslam

Friday, January 26, 2007
Wine & Cheese: 7:00 p.m.
Show: 8:00 p.m. - $19.50

Click here for more information

Annie will be accompanied by Bob Miles (from Comcast Cable TV's 'Miles of Music') on acoustic guitar and will also have some of her artwork displayed, including a painted violin.

Also Annie's new CD 'Woman Transcending,' will be available at the show and from this site: click here for ordering information.

Annie Singing with Welsh Band MAGENTA

In early 2006, Annie recorded a song that was specially written for her by Rob Reed and Christina Booth from the Welsh Progressive Band 'MAGENTA'. The song is truly beautiful and Christina joins Annie on the song.

This stemmed from Annie meeting and seeing the band perform 'live' at the 2005 Rosfest Festival in Phoenixville, PA.

The CD is in an interesting EP format with three different versions of the song (one with Annie and Christina sharing the lead vocals), plus an instrumental piece by Rob Reed that was inspired by the painting "Essence of Love" that Annie painted for the cover artwork. (Giclee prints will be available of the cover art).

Below is information from the record label.

F2 Music is proud to announce the release of a new CD single featuring Annie Haslam with Magenta - a combination that many people have been hoping for!

It will be released on July 1, 2006, the full track listing of the 4 track EP is:

Night and Day
Night and Day (Evening Mix)
Essence Of Love (Instrumental)
Night and Day (Duet with Christina of Magenta)

The CD can be purchased from www.progrock.co.uk (secure site with a fast service) and other great CD retailers around the world! They will be accepting pre-orders beginning May 22nd.
If experience any problems buying this single, please email info@f2music.co.uk and they will be happy to help.

The CD will be added to www.progrock.co.uk for pre-orders the week commencing May 22, 2006,
and we will set a new official release date of July 1, 2006, so that it does not conflict with any of our other releases (although we will send the pre-orders out as soon as we get them).

Raffle Tickets for Annie's Painting 'A Magical Day'
Available Until October 30th

See information below.

Annie at Sellersville Theater Katrina Benefit - Tuesday, September 20

Show in Brazil: Marcus Viana and Sagrado Coração da Terra
with Annie Haslam as special guest.

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February, 2005