Renaissance Say Farewell With Their "In Gratitude" Tour!


by John A. Wilcox



All good things come to an end. After decades of brilliant symphonic progressive music, the legendary Renaissance are saying their goodbyes. Chatting with lead vocalist Annie Haslam, I asked her what led to the decision to call it a day : Because it's time to stop. I mean I'm 77. It's too much responsibility. It's all my responsibility. It's just too difficult to carry on. My voice is still there. The audiences are there. But without a record company and finance behind us we're always stuck to the East coast because we can't get enough money to take it any further. The pandemic really messed everything up because we lost 2 1/2 years of work like everybody did. Now the luxury of filming is not going to happen because the prices have doubled. It's crazy.



Early on there were several embryonic iterations of Renaissance. The much-beloved "classic" recording line-up was Annie Haslam on vocals, Michael Dunford on guitars, John Tout on keyboards, Jon Camp on bass, and Terry Sullivan on percussion. Add to that the glorious lyrics of Betty Thatcher and you get the stuff of legends. Tracks like Carpet Of The Sun, Mother Russia, Ashes Are Burning, Northern Lights, Midas Man, Ocean Gypsy, and the epic Song Of Scheherazade sit deeply in the hearts of all Renaissance fans. For this tour the band brings back the luxurious Forever Changing - a number not played in decades! Haslam again : It's a beautiful song and we didn't play it very often. I recently spent some time with Terry (Sullivan) and his wife in England. And their son Lee, who's in a great band called Boa that are really going places. You've probably not heard of them but they're very, very good. So I was with them and I thought I really want to put that in because we haven't done it for many, many years. So Terry was happy about that. Northern Lights needs to be back in because we haven't done that for a very long time.



Renaissance sublimely combine classical, folk, rock, and progressive idioms with occasional smatterings of pop and jazz. If that all sounds like it would be too PBS/stuffy/dull, it surely is not! Renaissance play music that's alive and vibrant and full of melodies you will adore if you don't already! For this iteration of Renaissance, Annie Haslam is joined by long-time musical associate Rave Tesar on piano, Mark Lambert on guitars and vocals, Geoffrey Langley on keyboards and vocals, Frank Pagano on drums, percussion and vocals, and latest addition John Galgano (from the progressive band IZZ) on bass. I asked Haslam about what Galgano brings to the band. John plays a Rickenbacker which is amazing! It completely changes the sound of the band back to the sound that it really was. It's really a big difference there. He's great and he loves the music. He's very talented. He picked it up and he learned it very quickly.



Just yesterday I spoke to Galgano to get his thoughts about Jon Camp's original parts. Jon Camp always stood out to me as someone who knew just the note to play when. He left room for the vocal but he still managed to have a melodic and very interesting part to play. His bass playing - it's all melodies. Everything's melody. You can sing his bass part. That's one of the things I love about him. Getting a chance to learn how to play those and what he did has just been an honor. I was curious to know what piece was the most difficult to master. Galgano once more. What's funny is that it's a piece that was not Jon Camp. We're playing a song called Island and Jon wasn't the bass player at the time. (It was Louis Cennamo .) There's this 2 1/2 minute bit at the end that's kind of a Beethoven classical piece. I had never heard the song before. When I heard it I was like "Oh no. I have to learn this part!" So I had to slow it down and pick out the notes one at a time and then practice it and get it up to speed. That was the most challenging of this particular set. Although, as a whole I think A Song For All Seasons was both the most challenging to learn and the most rewarding because it is so fun to play! What Jon Camp does on that song is incredible.

As I said up front - all good things come to an end. This is your last opportunity to catch an amazing band performing songs you will never forget. No matter where you are on the globe, get to one of these gigs! Your heart & soul will thank you!


Renaissance

Thursday October 17, 2024 – NY, NY
The Town Hall
123 W 43rd St, NY, NY 10036
Tickets

Friday October 18, 2024 – Albany, NY
Lewis A. Swyer Theatre At The Egg
Agency Building 1, S Mall Arterial, Albany, NY 12203
Tickets

Saturday October 19, 2024 – Ridgefield, CT
The Ridgefield Playhouse
80 E Ridge Rd, Ridgefield, CT 06877
Tickets

Sunday October 20, 2024 – Boston, MA
City Winery Boston
80 Beverly St, Boston, MA 02114
Tickets

Wednesday October 23, 2024 – Rochester, NY
The Theater At Innovation Square
131 Chestnut St, Rochester, NY 14604
Tickets

Thursday October 24, 2024 – Homer, NY
Center For The Arts Of Homer
72 S Main St, Homer, NY 13077
Tickets

Friday October 25, 2024 – Newton, NJ
The Newton Theatre
234 Spring St, Newton, NJ 07860
Tickets

Saturday October 26, 2024 – Collingswood, NJ
The Scottish Rite Auditorium
315 White Horse Pike, Collingswood, NJ
Tickets

Tuesday October 29, 2024 - Edwardsville, IL
Wildey Theatre
252 N. Main St. Edwardsville IL 62025
Tickets

Wednesday October 30, 2024 - Edwardsville, IL
Wildey Theatre
252 N. Main St. Edwardsville IL 62025
Tickets

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