On the evening of August 10th, I was sitting in the Burbank Airport waiting for my flight home after a week in LA for the Eras Tour. As I was about to board the plane, I received a message from Reneé Rapp’s team, young ex-wives, inviting me to a brunch and listening party that weekend for Reneé’s new album, Snow Angel, before its release. So I did what any sane person would do: I got on my flight back to San Francisco, stayed for two days, then flew back to Los Angeles for a day to attend the brunch.
The day of the event, about thirty people met up with Reneé’s team and rode together in buses to listen to the album in an unknown location. When we arrived, we had an incredible view of the ocean and the entire space was set up with photos of Reneé and Snow Angel, along with an assortment of breakfast for us. There were bagels, muffins, and donuts spelling out “Reneé Rapp” and “Snow Angel.”
Everyone ate and chatted before our phones were collected and we entered a recording studio to listen to the album. We sat in a circle on the floor and proceeded to laugh, dance, and cry together through the 37 minutes of Snow Angel. As the album came to a close, we all collected our thoughts and digested what we just listened to. It was a lot to take in on one listen, especially since we couldn’t listen to the album again ourselves for just under a week. Looking at it now, the album is a great debut for Reneé, perfectly capturing the many facets of her experiences and identity. Highlights for me are “The Wedding Song”, “I Hate Boston”, and “Gemini Moon”.
Reneé herself then came into the room, greeting us and sitting with us on the floor. We went around and introduced ourselves, with Reneé responding to everyone’s names saying things like “hi babe” and “that’s hot”. She asked us our thoughts on the album and created a very personal environment, making everyone feel welcome.
Everyone got to take photos with Reneé with the beautiful backdrop of the ocean. The photos were taken on polaroids provided by her team and her team was recording videos of everyone chatting with Reneé. Last, we took a group photo then said our goodbyes to Reneé. The event was incredible and provided a great opportunity to meet other fans and feel a more personal connection with Reneé and her team. From my experience at her first Troubadour show to this, Reneé always works hard to connect with everyone and make us feel welcome. Her community is great to be a part of and I’m very grateful to have been given this opportunity. Tour started September 15th in Texas and is going to be at the Fox Theater in Oakland on October 2nd and 3rd. Now, go stream Snow Angel to prepare for the tour!