Renee Millner & Band at Shining Peak Brewery

Summer is just starting to wind down but we're keen to keep the party going, say "laters" to the first month of 2021 at the SPB Sunday Sesh with Renee Millner and her band.

Renee is a self-confessed nomad. Growing up in the leafy suburbs of Sydney, then moving to Japan after university gave her an insatiable desire to travel the world. With regular trips to South America, Europe and most recently northern China, she developed a strong resistance to settling permanently in one place.

Being a proud child of the 80's, she still has a fondness for the likes of Roxette, The Police, The Indigo Girls, INXS, Womack & Womack & George Michael. She dreams of one day creating a pop hit which combines the writing genius of David Bowie and the heart of Joan Armatrading.

These days, Renee is known for her smoky, soulful voice, deliciously ambient finger-picking melodies, and at times honestly heartbreaking lyrics (but that's a good thing!) Performing regularly with bass player Matthew Mahood & drummer Jarrod Hooper has enriched her original music on so many levels.

2020 has brought a whirlwind of experiences, from -28 degrees teaching English in Northern China, to the confines of Devon Street, New Plymouth. This has provided ample time for recording three new singles with producer Sam Johnson of Rhythm Ace Studios, due for release in early 2021. Whilst busy making music videos with dancer Sophie Gargan & videographer Hugo Eaton, and painting her face for the Day of the Dead celebrations (thanks Mireya & Karen), Renee is thrilled to be moving into 2021, with a renewed sense of creative hope.

"Renee's songs have the beauty and deep emotional entanglement of the singer-songwriter genre, but to tie her down to that limited space would miss the pervasively expansive threads from which she weaves her wonderful music." Graeme Woller Producer - In The World