Mark Andes w/ guest interviewer Tom Ciurczak on The Anne Leighton Inclusion Interview Show.
Tom Ciurczak does most of the heavy lifting in this interview with Mark Andes, who I met when working with Firefall during the Pandemic. I was thrilled when Tom mentioned Spirit and JoJo Gunne as favorites, and said, “I’ll hook you up with Mark. Thanks, Mark, for a good time...
Symphonic Rock Pioneers Annie Haslam and Jim McCarty will present the History of Renaissance on November 21st and 22nd at the Wildey Theatre, Edwardsville, Illinois (St. Louis), on November 28th at the Newton Theatre, NJ, and on November 29th at the Lansdowne Theatre, PA, in Lansdowne, PA.
Annie and Jim will share an intimate
discussion and visual presentation of the band’s extraordinary history followed
by a Renaissance performance featuring, for the first time, members of both
eras of the band performing their classic songs together.
Renaissance had their farewell tour last October 2024 and did not expect to perform live again. Annie, who’s been at the forefront of the group’s story for 50 years, recently was approached by an Edwardsville/St Louis promoter to return to the Wildey Theatre for a ‘one woman” show! After much deliberation, the idea grew into something bigger when Annie contacted Jim McCarty to be a part of the show and--then—return to the full Renaissance lineup, the band he—initially—co-founded.
A stupendous evening of Symphonic Rock
at its finest! "All
Renaissance and McCarty fans are invited to experience our coming full circle,"
Annie says enthusiastically, “that
was destined to happen one day!"
Rising from the ashes of the Yardbirds, Jim McCarty and long-time musical
partner Keith Relf envisioned a Renaissance as fusing folk and classical
influences with the bluesy rock they'd been playing and giving birth to a new
musical direction. When Annie Haslam joined the band in 1971 to sing
with her ethereal 5-octave voice, the group became more popular, especially
with the progressive rock scene. After Jim left, the line up continued notably
with Annie, this combined the poetic emotional words of Betty Thatcher and the
timeless musical masterpieces that were created by Michael Dunford, John Tout,
Jon Camp and Terry Sullivan.
Renaissance was reborn in 2009 with Annie and Michael Dunford at the helm,
along with keyboard player/musical director Rave Tesar, and a new generation of
musicians.
Renaissance has
toured throughout the world and has performed at Carnegie Hall with the New
York Philharmonic Orchestra and at the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Chorale Society. Renaissance had a top ten
hit in the UK with their song “Northern Lights” that still demands
airplay to this day.
Annie is “looking forward to singing 'Face of Yesterday' from Jim's band
Illusion, which I last performed on a tour of Germany in the early ‘70s. Such a
gorgeous song! I’m also excited to be performing with Jim,” who is equally
thrilled, stating, “I’ll be talking with Annie about how
the band formed and got that sound. Also very pleased to be singing some of my
own songs.”
Renaissance is Annie Haslam (lead vocals), Jim
McCarty (acoustic guitar and lead vocals), Rave Tesar (keyboards), Mark Lambert
(guitars, vocals), Geoffrey Langley (keyboards, vocals), John Galgano
(bass, vocals), and Frank Pagano (drums, percussion, vocals).
Row 2: Annie
Jim McCarty and Annie Haslam will be presenting the History of Renaissance Fall 2025 in Conversation and in Concert. Friday, Nov. 21 The Wildey Theatre, Edwardsville, IL (St. Louis) www.cityofedwardsville.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=672 Saturday, Nov. 22 The Wildey Theatre, Edwardsville, IL (St. Louis) www.cityofedwardsville.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=673 Friday, Nov. 28 The Newton Theatre, Newton, NJ https://skypac.org/the-history-of-renaissance/ November 29 Lansdowne Theatre, Lansdowne, NJ http://www.etix.com/ticket/p/81373625/the-history-of-renaissance-featuring-annie-haslam-and-jim-mccarty-lansdowne-lansdowne-theate
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