About.
Renee's roots run deep in Central Texas. Raised in the small town of Wharton, she picked up a hand-me-down guitar at age eight and spent her childhood woodshedding to the sounds of Dan Fogelberg, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Carole King, and Janis Ian.
Music wasn't part of the plan when Renee relocated to Austin after college — it was simply a fresh start. "I had been playing guitar for myself up until that point, perfectly content learning songs that moved me," she reflects. "But I had a secret dream that had been brewing for years — performing for people in arenas and large theaters. It lived only in my mind and in my childhood imagination."
Then chance intervened. A fortunate meeting with the coordinator of live music for the annual Governor of Texas' Spring Picnic launched her Austin debut — and in 2002, Renee took the stage at the Picnic for then-Governor Rick Perry. Another accidental encounter landed her alongside Benny McArthur of George Strait's Ace in the Hole Band at Gino's Bar in South Austin, following a season of First Thursdays and a year of monthly Fridays at the Sky Lounge in downtown Austin. For five years, Renee and her guitar partner were a featured act at the iconic Capital 10K Fun Run.
In March 2012, she was named Artist of the Month by the Austin Music Foundation.
Her self-titled debut album came to life through the generosity of Joe Gauci and Maltajo Productions — a collaboration born from a serendipitous meeting and years of connection cultivated over email. Once the project was set in motion at the world-renowned agency J. Walter Thompson in New York City, Gauci drew on his extensive background in the contractor video world to assemble a remarkable group of musicians. "I later found out that the drummer on my debut album was the same drummer on Sue Foley's 10 Days in November," Renee recalls.
After a period away, Renee returned to the stage in May 2025, recently opening for local and California acts at venues including New World Deli, The Cigar Vault Buda, and The Hole in the Wall. She is actively writing new material with an immediate goal to record, playing live whenever she can, and pursuing placement of her music in radio, television, and film.
Photo Credit: Valerie Gonzalez-Street