Bennett of 'Rent' Has New Album To Be Released 4/16

Declan Bennett's new album An Innocent Evening of Drinking will be available for the first time April 16th at The Living Room (154 Ludlow St /(212) 533-7235).  He is joined by Jared Stein on piano and Alon Bisk on cello showcasing tracks from his new album.  Declan is currently playing Roger in the Broadway production of Rent.

Declan Bennett releases his second album An Innocent Evening of Drinking and will be available for the first time Wednesday, April 16th.  The album – recorded in London, Coventry and New York during 2007 – is a stunningly fresh, honest and mature offering, at once thought-provoking and emotive, yet with melodies that stay in your head long after the cd finishes.  Declan's characteristic openness shines through, often tackling subjects outside the range of the normal singer-songwriter canon.  He has a willingness to examine his own vulnerability and failings, to tackle wider issues head-on and to approach universal subjects from an offbeat angle, reflecting at once his own sexuality, his questioning mind and his sensitivity.

Radio-friendly, yet distinctly independent in attitude, his songwriting is shot through with wit, a superbly deep and quirkily emotive way with language, and a funky, often percussive style of playing guitar allied to catchy melodies and distinctive grooves, which have all won him fans from across the spectrum on both sides of the Atlantic…

Declan has been performing his own acoustic material around the UK and across America over the past few years, releasing his first solo album The Painters Ball under the pseudonym Sumladfromcov in 2005 to critical acclaim.  Since September 2006 Declan has been mainly residing in America, where he has been starring as Roger in the original award-winning production of rock-opera Rent on Broadway New York and on the official US national tour, as well as performing his own gigs, and appearing on radio and TV the length and breadth of the country, so winning a whole army of young American fans on the way.  This opportunity to take his music Stateside came after an American casting director spotted him singing in London and immediately offered him the starring role – surely a first for a fiercely independent English acoustic singer-songwriter?  Declan returns to the UK full-time at the beginning of April, when he will be undertaking a UK tour in support of the album, which is released through Proper Music Distribution.

Before embarking on his solo career, Declan had mainstream success as part of a major-signed pop/rock outfit before the age of 20, and also starred as Billy in the West End version and UK tour of Boy George's stage show Taboo.