Andy and Renee + Hard Rain

ANDY HILL & RENEE SAFIER & Hard Rain 

Since a chance meeting at the University of Denver, Andy Hill and Renee Safier have carved out a unique niche for themselves in the Los Angeles music scene and beyond. Their performances – more than two hundred a year – are as much social gathering as musical event. Part fan family reunion, part rock & roll tent revival, their incomparable live shows attract a large, enthusiastic, and fiercely loyal group of fans. Andy and Renee provide a much-needed connection with live music to their audiences, whether in an intimate House Concert setting or at a large festival.  Their music never fails to move you, your feet, your heart, and most often, all three. 

As a songwriter, Andy Hill is a student of the folk and rock classics – Van Morrison, The Band, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, and Bob Dylan – and it shows. Both Andy & Renee have received numerous awards for their songwriting. Boundary-pushing use of language, sweeping vocal harmonies, unforgettable melodic content, and tightly crafted arrangements are hallmarks of their writing and producing style.  

Renee Safier, showcasing her prodigious blues and jazz vocal chops, was named “Best Solo Blues Artist” at the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival,receiving a rousing response from the 12,000-plus festival crowd. Since then, she and Andy have returned for many years giving successful performances during the 3-day festival. Andy & Renee have also performed New Zealand, Ireland, Italy Thailand, The Philippines, China, and across North America to approving crowds.  

As well as being riveting vocalists, Andy & Renee both play guitars and keyboard, Andy additionally showcasing his harmonica skills while performing Dylan and others. Along with their band Hard Rain, they have taken their unique sound and multi-instrumental skills to venues large and small all over the world. Local Southern California highlights include playing the House of Blues, The Wiltern, The Troubadour, The Roxy and theEl Rey Theatre in Hollywood, and The Warner Grand, The Grand Annex, the Torrance and Hermosa Beach Civic Cultural Centers and theHermosa Beach Summer Concert Series. They have also played at the Telluride Blues & Brews, Kerrville Folk, Napa Valley Folk, and High Sierra Songwriter’s Festivals. Their PBS Concert Special, “Black Box Opens-Andy & Renee”, filmed at the ATLAS Black Box Theatre at the University of Colorado, Boulder, recently won a Heartland Emmy. 

Their seventeen independent CD releases have won them countless awards, including: Los Angeles Music Awards “Americana Group of the Year”, “Best Duo/Group” at the International Acoustic Music Awards, Qweevak.com “Top-40 CDs of the Year, Runner-Up for Best Folk Act at the Crossroads Music Awards, and a two year run in the Musician Magazine “Best Unsigned Band” Semifinals. Since 1998, they have teamed up with country music legendary sideman, multi-instrumentalist, and producer/engineer Marty Rifkin, and together they recorded their next 12 CDs, including "It Takes a Lot to Laugh", a highly acclaimed collection of 14 Bob Dylan songs. When he isn't traveling the world with Bruce Springsteen or recording the soundtrack to “Man of Steel”, Marty often performs and travels with Andy & Renee in Southern California and beyond. 

In addition to all this, Andy Hill and Renee Safier will be celebrating their 36th year hosting their own Bob Dylan music festival, “Dylanfest”. What initially started out as a small once-a-year backyard party where a loose conglomerate of close friends took turns performing Dylan classics all day and well into the night (or until the cops came), has now evolved into a full-blown music festival attended by hundreds of fans and featuring over 70 of L.A.’s top musicians. The 8-hour event will be held at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center, Sunday, May 24th, which happens to be Bob Dylan's 85th birthday! 

Andy Hill and Renee Safier both live in the South Bay area of Los Angeles. 

Some words about Andy & Renee: 

“America’s best kept secret….” 

B. Noel Barr, Random Lengths; 

"...Safier's voice oft drips with an aching sensitivity filtered through delicate beauty and a fragility that would break and disappear in less capable hands...Hill's cuts, drenched in prairie sod, speak of the workingman's lament and a salt-of-the-earth Sprechstimme….” 

Mark S. Tucker, Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange; and 

"Anytime that Andy Hill and Renee Safier make music together, it sounds great – whether it’s on one of their originals, or in one of a thousand Bob Dylan songs they do so beautifully in their annual Dylan festivals.”  

Paul Zollo, American Songwriter

Awards:

International Acoustic Music Awards Finalist- Quit Playing Hard To Get 
International Acoustic Music Awards Finalist- "Waiting On A Train" 
Dallas Songwriters Assoc. 1st Place, Americana, "Two Trains" 
Dallas Songwriters Assoc. 1st Place, Pop, "Insignificant Other" 
International Acoustic Music Awards Finalist- "Way Back Home" 
West Coast Songwriters Assn. Honorable Mention "Stay Another Day" 
International Acoustic Music Awards Finalist for "Dream It All Away" 
Dallas Songwriters Assoc. 2nd Place, "Kids These Days" 
ISC "Unsigned Only" Semifinalist, "Kids These Days" 
Song Universe "Best Song" Finalist 
Singer Universe "Best Vocalist" Finalist - Renee Safier 
First & Third place, Dallas Songwriter's Assn. 
International Acoustic Music Awards Finalist for "When You Remember Me" 
Our CD, "Midnight Tea" was nominated for "Best Traditional Folk" album,  JPF Music Awards! www.jpfolks.com 
International Acoustic Music Awards Finalists for "Telescope" and "Stay Another Day" 
UK Songwriting Contest Semi-Finalist 
Unisong International Songwriting Contest 3rd Place Winner: "Another Man's War & "Kids These Days" -Top 20 winner 
JPF "Best Traditional Folk Album: nominee, "Midnight Tea" 
Billboard Song Contest Honorable Mention, "Kids These Days" 
International Acoustic Music Awards Finalist for "Salvation in Your Arms" and "Way Back Home" 
Independent Singer-Songwriter Association, Honorable Mention, "Kids These Days" 
Billboard World Music Awards, Honorable Mention, "New Orleans (I'll be Coming Home)" and "Waiting On A Train" 
Malibu Music Awards, Honorable Mention, "Kids These Days" 
International Acoustic Music Awards 1st Runner-Up, Best Duo/Group for "Away" 
Los Angeles Music Awards "Americana Group of the Year" 
We Are Listening Singer Songwriter Awards: Honorable Mention 
West Coast Songwriters International Song Contest: Honorable Mention 
nternational Acoustic Music Awards Finalists, Best Duo /Group and Best Female Vocal 
Renee Safier, Winner, 2005 Telluride Blues Festival, Solo Acoustic Blues Competitionwww.tellurideblues.com 
International Acoustic Music Awards: Best Duo/Group www.inacoustic.com/winners.html 
Kweevak.com "Top 40" CDs of the Year: A River is Gone  
2001 & 1993 Kerrville New Folk Finalist 
Crossroads Music Awards Finalist - Folk 
Napa Valley Music Festival Finalist 
Sierra Songwriters Festival Finalist 
Two-time Musician Magazine: Best Unsigned Band Semifinalist