By R. Peltier

Musicians have long been advocates for different causes, but it’s not often when an artist takes on a new cause and makes such an impact so large that there’s virtually a complete reversal.

Three years ago singer/songwriter Renee Marcou became the spokesperson for Baby Safe Haven New England and brought her ability to communicate both through music and the too numerous to count appearances on radio, television and print. Many of the radio and TV appearances are on YouTube and have acquired over 100,000 total hits.

The results of Marcou’s efforts have been that one of the jobs she agreed to take on was to be available for press conferences should a deadly newborn abandonment take place, and answer questions on how the Baby Safe Haven law is supposed to work. In the last 44 months there hasn’t been a deadly newborn abandonment in Massachusetts or New England.

In an equal 44 month period prior to the Massachusetts Baby Safe Haven law passing there were 6 deadly newborn abandonments in Massachusetts alone.

Now Baby Safe Haven New England and Renee Marcou are beginning an effort to educate new students coming to Massachusetts for college and high school educations, as well as the newest generation of young people who were too young to understand the Baby Safe Haven law when it passed six years ago.

A change in Renee Marcou’s music career, her own maturation, and the acquiring a scintillating new band is directing both her performances and advocacy.

The change began in the late winter when Marcou broke off with previous management, and began Renee Marcou Management. The first order was to form a band to perform with, rather then with the Pop/R&B staple of back-up tracks much like a karaoke performer. Her new band is stocked with some of Berklee College and Northeastern University Music Program’s top graduates, students and proteges.

The second order of business was the continued maturation of music genres to combined power/pop, punk/pop and rock. With an impressive band that can musically excel in a fusion of multiple genres Renee Marocu has ability to seamlessly wander between multiple styles with her own Mariana’s Trench of vocal and tone endowment. The results are high energy performances with a band that a national touring artist would be jealous of. It’s also a band that a lesser vocalist would be overpowered by, but Renee stands out in her ability to not only lead, but push them even harder.

A tour is being planned this fall and winter, and will kick off in Worcester as Renee Marocu and Boston’s All These Elements begin “Girls Give Back.” All These Elements is fronted by another excelling female vocalist, Katia Racine. Racine is very active in advocating for the Invisible Children crusade. Invisible Children is a movement seeking to end the conflict in Uganda and stop the abduction of children for use as child soldiers.

All These Elements is another band that defies genre, plays the music they love, and moves audiences with energy and voracious talent displays.

With back to back sets these bands promise to put music and message together in a way that will not be forgotten after the mics are faded down and the last vibration of the guitar strings ends.

The first stop on the tour is September 4 at the Lucky Dog Music Hall.

reneemarcou.com
myspace.com/reneemarcou