Ronstadt Revue: Ultimate Tribute to Linda Ronstadt
Franklin, New Jersey, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2017
Music
Press
"...It is a daunting task presenting a comprehensive revue of Linda Ronstadt's career in concert but Gesenia Erolin is perfectly suited. Like Ronstadt, Gesenia grew up in a bilingual household, singing both Spanish and English songs since her earliest days.
Close your eyes, you’ll swear Linda Ronstadt – at her peak - is on stage. Open them, the resemblance is uncanny. Gesenia doesn’t just channel Ronstadt’s vibrant sound, she embodies her very spirit, in fact, so much so that three of Ronstadt’s own former band members are among Gesenia’s biggest fans.
Gesenia and her first-class band, Ronstadt Revue, perform music from every era of Ronstadt’s career, from the chart-topping “Blue Bayou” and “You’re No Good”, to the soulful Eagles ballad, “Desperado.”
The show also includes Spanish language selections from Ronstadt’s best-selling “Canciones de mi Padre” album.
“It’s so great to see this band keeping Linda’s music alive!” said Dan Dugmore, Ronstadt’s longtime pedal steel and electric guitarist. “Gesenia has a beautiful voice and sings Linda to a tee… I highly recommend you see this band!”
As John Beland, Linda’s former bandleader, puts it, “There are tribute bands and then there is this. Don’t miss it!..." - Media News Group, Jan 17, 2020
"... Erolin strode onstage in a bell-sleeved paisley dress and knee-high boots, her face curtained by jet-black hair. Okay. Anyone can comb a thrift store for outfits from 1978.
But not everyone — almost no one, in fact — can open her mouth after three anticipatory chords and belt “I’ve been cheated” with just the right twang of wounded defiance.
Rocking the repertoire
For the next two hours, Erolin and her bandmates — bassist Nick Frese, rhythm guitarist Bob Leonetti, lead guitarist David Lenat, and pedal steel guitarist Jim Cohen, with Tim Reeder on drums and the versatile Dave Hartl on keyboard, accordion, and harmonica—rocked through nearly every hit in the Ronstadt repertoire.
A sprightly cover of Buddy Holly’s “It’s So Easy” segued to the breathy dreamscape of “Blue Bayou,” which led to the country lilt of “Silver Threads and Golden Needles,” the songs punctuated by Erolin’s brief reminiscences of growing up (like Ronstadt) in a Spanish-speaking household and singing from the age of 14.
For the second set, she changed clothes — a cream-colored A-line tunic dress, with boots to match — and delivered another robust round: “Someone to Lay Down Beside Me,” “Heat Wave,” and “That’ll Be the Day.”
A living legacy
Erolin and her band are faithful troubadours, but Ronstadt Revue isn’t an exercise in mimicry. Rather, it’s an effort to honor an artist’s musical legacy through ongoing live performance. In this case, the tribute carries extra poignancy: These are tunes the 11-time Grammy winner, now 72, can no longer muster, since Parkinson’s silenced Ronstadt’s singing voice six years ago.
The concert accordioned time: the decades-ago and the right-now pleated together. “Debemos siempre separarnos” (“We must always separate”), a lyric from “Lo Siento Mi Vida,” which Erolin dedicated to her mother, resonated more heartbreakingly in light of the migrant families wrenched apart at the U.S.-Mexico border.
And how could I listen to a woman voice the bitter lament of “You’re No Good” (“And now I see how you really are…”) without thinking of the sexual harassers outed by the #MeToo movement?
By the end of the second set, I wasn’t the only one mouthing the words. “Desperado!” someone shouted before the final encore, and the stage hushed for that anthem about wanderlust and solitude and the power of love to call the renegade back home..." - Broad Street Review, Dec 23, 2018
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
RONSTADT REVUE is the ultimate tribute to one of the world greatest
singers, Ms. Linda Ronstadt. The show features the uber-talented vocalist, Gesenia Erolin and her world-class 6-piece band, who faithfully recreate selections
from all phases of Ms. Ronstadt's career, from Country and Rock,
through Mexican/Mariachi (sung in authentic Spanish), and even songs from her
three Great American Songbook albums with Nelson Riddle. Close your eyes and be transported to an amazing era of music.
Each member of the band is a seasoned, talented musician fully dedicated to recreating the sounds and vibe of a Linda Ronstadt live performance from back in the day. But of course, no Ronstadt tribute band can work without “that voice”. And if you close your eyes, Gesenia will have you believing that Linda really is with us on the stage. Indeed, the group is so authentic and professional that two of Linda Ronstadt's own band members are co-producing their upcoming (2022) album and one of them (John Beland) is performing live in concert with them during their upcoming tour of Texas in Spring 2022.
Band Members
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