In Conversation with Renee & Jeremy

Renee & Jeremy will headline at SOhO on Tuesday, March 14 | Credit: Courtesy

This week, I spoke with Renee & Jeremy to discuss their upcoming show headlining at SOhO on Tuesday, March 14. The duo are an indie folk band who, while on break, quietly amassed over 200 million streams across the globe. With their seamless harmonies and intricately constructed instrumentals, their top songs sit comfortably in the millions on Spotify. Despite their recent success, however, they remain the same duo they’ve always been, finding joy in the tie that bound them from the beginning: the music.

So…talk to me about the show!

Jeremy: We’re veteran performers, dare I say…But we’re just trying to figure out what Renee & Jeremy is going to be like moving forward. We know what we’re doing musically, and we’re just kind of finding our space in the venues.

Renee: We’re staying local. My hope is that we can translate what we create and bring that to the audience. For me, that’s my wish…I wanna stay in the feeling we create when we’re alone —  to other people.

Jeremy: The soothing energy we create…a friend of mine came to the show and said “it’s kind of a song sound bath.”

Renee: That’s good. It’s nurturing. And I think it has something to do with male-female, our voices, the energy of our voices…you know? There’s something magical that happens. I just want to bring that magic to people.

Because you guys have to sync your voices together, do you have to really rehearse every note? Or is there room for improvisation?

Renee: Jeremy does. Laughs

Jeremy: Our phrasing thing is kind of eerie. It’s kind of weird…we never think about it. It just kind of happens.

Do you guys prefer performing together or solo?

Renee: There’s no preference. I really love performing with Jeremy!

Jeremy: R&J is a specific energy… The world is going through flux, and it’s uncomfortable. [In our music] that bond between two people… makes going through that discomfort beyond bearable, maybe beautiful.

What’s the dynamic of people who come to the live shows?

Renee: People who want to sit and listen and be soothed. Music lovers, you know? Who wants to sit and listen. They’re quiet, and want to take it in.

Have you guys played SOhO before?

Renee: I have! I played with my band Paper Flowers. I like the room!

Jeremy: I played there during the end of my solo stuff. It was a gnarly time.

It’s cool you’re coming back to Santa Barbara and doing it together!

Jeremy: Going to Santa Barbara to make music became this ritual during the pandemic… this sort of escape, this retreat where we got to make music together in this beautiful setting. It holds this special place in my heart because of that.

Renee: We’re finding our way into our live show. I’m enjoying it. And any cover we pick, the lyrics have to mean something to us as if it were something we had written. I have to believe what I say… One thing about Santa Barbara is, it’s a community of people that knows everybody… everybody asks “why did you move here?” Are you kidding me? Have you seen this place? And it has everything you need! And, I got married here with my husband. We came on our first date… it’s a really special place for us… we had an 11-hour date.

One of my first dates lasted twelve hours from 3 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Jeremy: Oww!

So I just beat you by a little.

Renee: You beat me by an hour, Kat!… Kat, oh my God, your voice! And your vibe! Your voice… we need to talk about that. Can I do an article on you?

Aw, that’s so sweet, thank you!

Renee: Very beautiful, very impressive… my daughter really loves you too.

Jeremy: How about her flier skills?

Renee: Oh my God, that too! I was getting to that! I mean, I think she needs to do [the art for] our next record cover or something, right? Seriously!

That’d be so cool!

Renee: You did it on a Goldfish box?

I just took a box of Goldfish and did it there, ‘cause… I needed a flat surface. Laughs

Renee: Oh, “you know, just something I just kinda did,” I love it! So… what are you going to perform [when you open for us]? [Editor’s Note: Our writer, Kat Sophia, is also a musician and will open for Renee & Jeremy.]

I try to plan a few more than would fit just in case I get nervous and don’t speak as much between songs, but…

Renee: Or if you get a big encore and they won’t let you leave the stage.

Laughs Oh my God, I don’t think that will happen. But yeah, I’ll probably just do originals, but then I try to pick the ones that people usually have liked… and I’m letting myself do one new one.

Renee: And what about the ones you like to sing? Can you do those?

Usually the ones I like to sing are the most recent ones, so the new one I’m doing is my current favorite because it’s what I’m going through right now… I have one that’s my standard favorite that I don’t think anyone else likes except for me (laughs), so I might do that one. A lot of the ones I didn’t really try on are the ones people like, I think because I wasn’t thinking that much about it, so I throw a lot of those ones in… ones where people tend to come up to me after I play and be like, “I really liked that one!” Like sometimes a security guard will come up to me… and I’ll be like, “okay!”

Renee: A security guard! Laughs

Renee & Jeremy play at SOho on March 14 with support from Rich Jacques and Kat Sophia as part of the duo’s California residency, which will see them playing shows in LA, Ojai, San Diego, and more. Learn more at sohosb.com/events/renee-jeremy-plus-rich-jacques.