"Up in the Air" music icon Kevin Renick picks hometown's Sheldon Concert Hall for dual CD release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) April 25, 2011 -- St. Louis, Missouri – Still fresh off both local and international accolades for penning the “Up In The Air” song which graced Jason Reitman's acclaimed movie, St. Louis singer/songwriter Kevin Renick will launch the simultaneous release of two innovative and contrasting albums at Sheldon Concert Hall on Thursday, May 19 at 7:30pm.

Recent honors for the hometown hero include the U.K.'s Empire Magazine choosing “Up in the Air” as the #5 movie song for their Best of 2010 issue. On the local scene, Renick was recently featured on iconic radio station KDHX, in their Local Artist Spotlight.

In a budding music career marked by startling developments, the dual release show will mark the realization of yet another long-time dream for the upstart hometown musician, as Renick has long coveted The Sheldon for his ideal music venue.

“You know, when I first started performing, when I was thinking about where I would most like to play, the Sheldon was always high at the top of the list because it allows for the kind of intimacy that I always hope to achieve in my music: the ability to tell stories about the songs, have there be a relaxed vibe between performer and audience – and there's just a warmth there.”

Come On Down, a 6-song EP that Renick has recorded with local engineer Justin Robinson, is his first new material since his self-released debut Close To Something Beautiful emerged last year. All but one song on Come On Down features Renick's core band of Ned Watson, lead guitar; Ted Moniak, bass, and Andrea Spencer, better known from local band Pelvic Girdles, on drums.

Renick's second release is The Road To Olandra, an ambient/spoken word odyssey recorded over two years ago with Canadian soundscape artist John Sobocan. The Olandra project bears the obvious influence of Renick's ambient guru Brian Eno as well as experimental artist Laurie Anderson.

“...I thought it'd be kind of fun to release two completely different things at the same time and kind of deliberately confuse people. But I also thought about Brian Eno, my hero, because he once came out with a rock album and a very weird instrumental ambient album at the same time, and he went on record at the time as saying it let people know right away that he was not going to follow a typical path, that they shouldn't try to pigeonhole him, and I'd kind of like to be that way too. I'd like to be full of surprises.”

The artist's affinity for incorporating other well-known local musicians into his shows is on display once again for the Sheldon concert, as his band will include renowned St. Louis performer Gretchen Hewitt on violin and piano. Hewitt appears on Renick's new EP, and is fresh off a recent choral performance in the St. Louis Symphony's "Lord of the Rings" extravaganza.

All tickets are $6, and available only at Sheldon Concert Hall's box office the day of the show. Doors open at 7pm; call (314) 533-9900 or visit www.kevinrenick.com and www.thesheldon.org for details.

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