Constantly blurring the lines between genres with each new release, Rence goes above and beyond at distinguishing himself as an artist and producer. His most recent release, “hate u btw,” takes a turn from the darkness of his last EP, “Fall 2019,” and serves as a song to bop your head and get lost in the rhythm. With over 15 million streams on Spotify, and over 500,000 monthly listeners, Rence will soon enough become a household name.
Currently on tour with Christian French, we had the opportunity to sit and chat with Rence for an updated interview since our last [meeting] at his show in Santa Ana, CA, at the Observatory. If you missed that interview or have yet to watch it, you can watch it here. We were able to catch up on the artists’ plans for 2020, including a possible headlining tour as well as his opening spot on tour for EDEN later this spring.
1 show into this tour, 1st tour of the year, what are you most excited for?
Rence: I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. The feeling was like, its so good to be back [on stage] but also there were a lot of tech issues because there were so many things running, especially being an opener with a sophisticated audio setup. Usually an opener will just have two to three elements, like the people who were on before us just had a guitar and mic set up, but since we have a whole rig like Christian’s, ours has to be broken down and removed between sets, it was a little complicated. But on our off day we put a lot of hours in, all day getting it together. We have grass, astroturf, and a plant, Todd Griffin.
What makes this tour different from your tour with Ryan Caraveo and EDEN?
R: Of the three, this [tour] is most in line with my fan base. The crossover is so natural, there’s no need to force anything or play my set a different way. Everything that I am doing resonates a lot with the people who listen to Christian because I know that from the people that message me so I feel like it’s a perfect match. I would say that Ryan and EDEN’s sets are also great matches, but they diverge in some ways.
Can we expect a headlining tour of your own in the near future?
R: We’re working on putting one together for this summer, if not this summer, then certainly soon thereafter.
When you compare your most recent single, “hate u btw,” to your previous project, Fall 2019, do you see any difference between the two?
R: Fall 2019 was a really dark period for me. It was right after a lot of change in my life took place, I just graduated college, moved to Los Angeles and I was making all of these songs so I hadn’t really found a home within myself. I was running around, doing too many sessions with different people, and as much as I love doing sessions, but when you do a ridiculous amount of them, it just pulls you so thin. So with that project, the mood, the energy, is that darkness. Even though the song is called “hate u btw,” its not that. It’s just meant for people to jump around and bang their heads and that’s what I get to do at these shows.
We’re two months through 2020, what have you finished already, and what are you looking to get done for the rest of the year?
R: Accomplishments so far are 1. landing this tour [with Christian French] and Eden. I manifested this one. I’ve known Christian for a while, he’s a lovely dude, but usually tours are booked through booking agents and I’m sure they booked this one too, but I love how on [Christian’s] post for the [Bright Side of the Moon] tour, I just commented, “Hey, who’s opening?” And sure enough. So those feel like huge accomplishments. Also, we have some festival stuff booked now as well which is super exciting. Getting “hate u btw,” out was awesome. I had started the year at home in Seattle before I went back to LA which was lovely. Throughout the year, so many songs are planned. Right now, I feel like I have the best collection of songs that I’ve ever had before, that are all done or super close to done and coming. A lot of them I’m playing [on tour], and all of the new ones, we have rehearsed so we’re able to shuffle them in, which is another thing that feels amazing right now. The tightness of our band, with [Ryan Caraveo’s] tour under our belt, as well as the New York shows, etc. and even more rehearsals, we have 20 songs we can play rather than just being like, “here’s our 11 song set.” We get to have fun. We have different covers we get to mix and match. I’m playing more instruments on stage now, a lot of growth and change.
What can we expect, music-wise this year? Any EP’S, singles?
R: Singles for a little while. You know from my music, that I have a very wide range of taste and style, so the single release strategy allows for me to get something out and let that be that rather than having it tied to a project. With all of the projects I’ve done, Fall 2019, and Pink, they’re vey self-contained, very purposefully self-contained and they exist in their own universe. So while I’m making some of the best music I possibly can with different collaborators, sometimes just myself, those songs just get to go out and people get to just enjoy them rather than trying to connect the dots.
Any words to your supporters? Any words for those who have yet to discover Rence?
R: I hope you listen to my music, the earth is dying and we need to take care of it. Come to a show. I am a huge music fan so I understand being on the fence about seeing someone, but I think if people come to [these] shows, they won’t regret it. The three of us [SWSHR and Gabe Monro], and certainly Christian as well, and I’m sure EDEN and Keshi on the next one are bleeding up there trying to give the best show possible. You come to the show and you see the little bit, but even on our rest days, we work for so long just to get it perfect. We’re putting in the work so I hope people come out if we’re coming close to you, and if you’re not able to come to a show or if we’re not coming close to you, message me and let’s chat!
Rence is currently on tour with Christian French for the Bright Side of the Moon Tour Part 2. See if he’s coming to a city near you below:
March 4– Salt Lake City, UT
March 6– Denver, CO
March 9– Minneapolis, MN
March 11– Madison, WI
Beginning April 23, Rence embarks on tour with EDEN and Keshi. Check out the schedule below to view the tour dates for EDEN’s No Future Tour:
April 23– Dallas, TX
April 24– Austin, TX
April 25– Houston, TX
April 28– Kansas City, MO
April 29– St. Louis, MO
May 1– Nashville, TN
May 2– Atlanta, GA
May 3– Lake Buena Vista, FL
May 6– Washington, D.C.
May 8– Philadelphia, PA
May 9– New York, NY
May 12– Boston, MA
May 14– Montreal, QC
May 15– Toronto, ON
May 16– Pittsburgh, PA
May 18– Columbus, OH
May 19– Indianapolis, IN
May 20– Detroit, MI
Rence’s music is available on all streaming platforms, as well as on iTunes. Keep up with Rence and follow him on Instagram and Twitter
