Uncovered: An Original Music Showcase is excited to present to you ...

Anna van Riel
"Tell Me About Love"

Anna van Riel is an award-winning songwriter with a passion for folk, blues and jazz.

With a music career spanning over 20 years, Anna has performed at the world's highest musical festival in Ladakh, across two summers in the Cote d' zur, through earth homes and permaculture farms in North America and through festivals across the East Coast of Australia. She has even performed for Prince Albert of Monaco...twice! A child of the Deep South through-and-through, Anna originally hails from Invercargill; where she was inspired by the musical theatre and performing arts scene, and moved to Central Otago in her adolescence where she developed her own sound. Anna still considers herself a resident of both towns and collaborates creatively with the community in each place. This left-handed Lucy picked up her first right-handed guitar at the age of 14, immediately wrote a song and has never looked back. Her vinyl collection reflects inspiration from the greats, such as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Lamontagne and Little River Band.

A huge advocate for activating and supporting projects within the arts sector, Anna has managed artists and tours within Aotearoa and Australia, encouraging the likes of Kiwi artists Jesse Sheehan, Ameria Grenell and NyOh.

She tours her own 80's inspired one-woman stage show for children called Waste Free Wanda, empowering tamariki how to reduce single-use waste on the planet, while infusing them with actions and original vintage power anthems that support them to remember simple tools on how to care for our planet. A child of the early 80's, Anna is drawn to cassette tapes and leopard print, and is known at parties as her bold and fabulous alter-ego, Rhonda LaFont. Rhonda is known for her cameo appearances at ukulele festivals with her band 'Synergy'.

Trained in vocal mechanics and breathwork, Anna delivers 1:1 coaching from her Hāwea voice studio, and runs both singing & speaking workshops across the South of NZ, supporting speakers and singers to find their true voices. A passionate veggie gardener and homesteader, Anna grows food on the family property where she lives with 3 generations, including her handsome husband and two children.

Often performing with her band, The Back Road Revolution, Anna's compositions weave storytelling with imagery, inviting audiences to journey with her through song. Following a sabbatical in the children's-music sector, Anna is back en force, and sporting a deeper, fuller vocal range and a brand new repertoire. Anna is currently working on her 6th studio album.

Anna's website.

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