Singer Antonia Bennett To Debut Songs From Adult Alternative Pop Album
With Five Showcases At South By Southwest Music Conference

‘Ordinary Girl’ Produced By Acclaimed Songwriter Holly Knight

Los Angeles, CA: Readying her forthcoming debut album, singer Antonia Bennett is gearing up for a special run of live performances during the 25th Annual South By Southwest (SXSW) Music Conference in Austin, TX.

March 16 – Austin, TX, Sheraton Austin at the Capitol (7PM)
March 17 – Austin, TX, Elephant Room (11PM)
March 18 – Austin, TX, Momo’s, Planet LA Records’ Party (3PM)
March 18 – Austin, TX, Victorian Room at The Driskill, ASCAP Showcase (7:30PM)
March 19 – Austin, TX, Primary Wave Publishing [Invite-only for film/tv]

The upcoming SXSW showcases will coincide with Ms. Bennett’s first trip to the preeminent music event; “I’m really psyched to have the opportunity to play at SXSW. I have never been there before and have heard from all my friends and colleagues that it is an amazing festival and a really cool hang.” For these appearances, her band will feature guitarists Danny Murphy and JJ Farris with bassist Keith Lentin and drummer Ben Antelis.

On Friday March 18 at Momo’s on 6th street, Planet L.A. Records, in conjunction with Music Box Library, StageIt, Songs Inc, 1888 Media, Hello Music, Blue Mics, Bogner Amps, Schecter guitars, TC Electronic, JakPrints, Honest Tea, KIND snack bars and Whole Foods, is hosting a day event (12PM– 6PM CST) featuring a short set by Ms. Bennett and nine other artists to raise awareness for the Not For Sale (www.notforsale.org) campaign against human trafficking. The event will be webcast live by StageIt with a Songs For Freedom compilation CD, featuring a song from each of the participating artists, with proceeds going to Not For Sale. Later that evening, Antonia will take part in a very special ASCAP showcase being held in the Victorian Room at the world-famous Driskill Hotel.

The Planet L.A. Records and ASCAP showcases, as well as her other performances in Austin, will offer a chance for music aficionados and industry insiders alike to preview Ordinary Girl, Antonia Bennett’s 12-track Adult Alternative album deftly produced by acclaimed songwriter Holly Knight, who was voted “Best Songwriter” in Rolling Stone’s 11th Annual Poll and whose credits include hit songs for Pat Benatar, Aerosmith, Tina Turner, Fefe Dobson, The Donnas, Hawk Nelson, Otep and Porcelain.

Fans of Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen and Gwen Stefani will immediately gravitate towards Ordinary Girl’s anthemic title track and album opener “Pill,” a sexy romp that playfully demurs “If I could take a pill to make me want you, you know that I would”. Antonia explains, “Pill speaks for anyone who has been in a relationship with someone they care a great deal about, who they know is good for them, yet they aren’t in love with them”. The album marks Antonia’s expansion into new territory, a crossover into the hip Adult Alternative Pop market.

Ordinary Girl continues Antonia’s ongoing creative collaboration with Ms. Knight, whom she is concurrently working with on a full-length jazz recording to be released by Mesa/Bluemoon (via Fontana/Universal) this spring as a follow-up to an acclaimed jazz Ep last fall. The high-profile accolades lauded upon Antonia by the likes of The New York Timesand Jazz Times are apt reference points as Ms. Bennett’s burgeoning career is poised to soar upwards as she crosses over to a mainstream audience with Ordinary Girl.

Antonia muses, “We all want music that really grabs us and is meaningful. I had a lot to say lyrically, and with Holly it became an effortless, whimsical process.” Holly continues, “My goal was to come up with a record that embraced what was so unique about her voice and put a pop ribbon bow around it without compromising her vocal sound.”

Far from ordinary, Antonia Bennett is a singer, who like her legendary father Tony, has always known how to make a tune her own. A deeply gifted singer, this fiery redhead is a burgeoning icon whose charisma shines through on a contemporary record that becomes a classic upon first listen.

Some more thoughts from Holly Knight:
‘I spent several years getting to know Antonia, discovering what she was about, and helping her to find her particular sound. Before we met she had pretty much been focused on jazz. My goal was to come up with a record that embraced what was so unique about her voice, (Billie Holiday, Betty Boo meets…who knows, Gwen Stefani, Amy WInehouse ?) That’s what people are saying ….and put a pop ribbon bow around it without compromising her vocal sound. She has a nostalgic, sassy AMC kind of voice…and when you put that in a pop genre you get something very new and unique, charming. We had to sit down and write great well crafted songs, and not be afraid to step out of the box a little, yet still maintain that pop accessability. The end result was something fresh and appealing.

Some of the tracks (not all of them), I like to think of as ‘Vaudeville rock’…They have a theatrical slant to them…something that Queen used to pull off quite well. I also think that all of the eleven songs have great potential for movie and TV placement….whether epic or intimate…I studied classical piano for ten years from age four, then I also listened to Broadway musicals and all the rock I could get immersed in… plus there was my mother taking me to see Ravi Shankar concerts. So Antonia has her jazz backround, also the Broadway stuff (when Broadway was cool…i.e. South Pacific, Gigi, Sound Of Music, Singin In The Rain)…and Blondie…lots of influences…

I am very proud of this record, I feel passionately about it, and I know that once it gets to the people…past all the gate keepers…it’s going to be embraced and welcomed with open arms.

“…[Antonia] conjures echoes of Billie Holiday and Rickie Lee Jones, with a hint of Betty Boop.” The New York Times

“A captivating combination of contemporary and timeless, Antonia Bennett’s voice can be simultaneously sultry and familiar, sassy and classy.” ASCAP Magazine

“ Liza Minnelli. Natalie Cole. Norah Jones. Now, Antonia Bennett can be added to the list of second-generation vocalists with the potential to rival an iconic parent’s pizzazz.” Jazz Times

“What she does with “Love Is A Battlefield” is nothing short of genius.” Examiner

“Bennett is able to deliver words of romance and bliss while serenading listeners with her angelic and powerful voice.” Yahoo! Associated Content