Linda Davis returns to Renaissance Center seeking concert opening acts
Release Date: 8/14/2007. Expired: 9/22/2007
Last fall nine aspiring singers got the opportunity of a lifetime when they performed on stage at The Renaissance Center as the opening act for one of country music’s most respected vocalists, Linda Davis.
That chance returns Saturday, Sept. 22, when Davis again presents a concert in the Performance Hall and will choose students from two workshops to perform as part of the show.
A Grammy Award winner, Davis will present two Stage/Performance 101 workshops at The Renaissance Center 1-4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19, and 6-9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20. Tuition for the workshop is $50 and Davis will select students from the workshops to once again be her opening acts at her 7 p.m. concert Saturday, Sept. 22. Tickets for the show are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors 55 and over and $7 for children under 13.
"My goal is to help each client feel comfortable in their own skin. The stage is yours to command. It's not enough to just sing or play great; the audience wants to feel at ease with you. When you're comfortable, they're comfortable," Davis explains. "I know I'll meet so many talented singers/musicians on Wednesday and Thursday and I'll want to show some of them off to the community Saturday night at the performance!"
Davis enthusiastically shares her Grammy Award-winning performance skills with aspiring singers and performers. With over 20 years of experience working in the entertainment industry, Davis is now guiding and coaching novice musicians on their stage presence, microphone technique, movement and charisma. Eight albums, 10 videos and countless live performances around the globe (with artists Reba McEntire, Kenny Rogers, Brooks and Dunn and Garth Brooks) make Davis a sought-after consultant and mentor for up-and-coming artists.
At each session (whether group or private), Davis provides critique and direction based on tried and true methods that have served her well throughout the course of her career. Realizing that each artist has unique abilities, as well as goals to consider, she tailors her advice to help each individual reach his or her own expectations and potential. The student should be prepared with tracks or instruments; wardrobe consultation is optional. Each workshop is limited to 15 participants.
Even though the title of her latest CD is I Have Arrived, Davis “arrived” on the country music scene in 1993 when Does He Love You, her duet with Reba McEntire, hit the top of the charts and won a Grammy, a CMA award and a TNN Music City News award.
Known in Nashville music circles as a “song stylist,” Davis has been one of the most sought-after session singers in Music City since her arrival from Texas in 1982.
When she loaded all her belongings in a U-Haul and moved from East Texas to Nashville in 1982, she took a job as a receptionist at a recording studio and began singing demos for local songwriters. Soon her voice could be heard on several national jingles including Kentucky Fried Chicken, Dr. Pepper and Mug Root Beer. In the evenings, she sang and played in the piano bar at Nashville’s Music City Sheraton.
Her pure singing voice and style soon began gathering fans around Nashville.
“The first time I heard Linda sing was in 1989 when I was listening to songs for my next album,” McEntire said. “I kept hearing this one particular female vocalist on the demos that just blew me away. It had been a long time since a voice had moved me that way and I just had to find out who she was.”
McEntire invited Davis to become a featured performer on her national tour, which led the pair to the studio where they recorded their smash duet, Does He Love You.
“In this business, there are people who can sing and there are singers,” said superstar Kenny Rogers. “Linda Davis is absolutely one of the best singers in the business. I defy you to find anyone who’s ever worked with her or heard her sing to disagree with that statement. She is the best.”
Davis also volunteers as a National VP and Nashville spokesperson for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and a number of other philanthropic endeavors.
For more information on Linda Davis, visit www.lindadavis.com. For more information on her workshops and concert at The Renaissance Center, call (615) 740-5600 or (888) 700-2300 or visit www.rcenter.org. To register for a workshop call (615) 740-5533. To purchase tickets for the concert call (615) 740-5601.
The Renaissance Center is a fine arts education and performing arts center at 855 Highway 46 South in Dickson, just 35 miles west of Nashville on Interstate 40 at exit 172.
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