INTERNATIONAL BOOKINGS
Charles Carlini
In Touch Entertainment
5 Columbus Circle, 8th Floor
New York, NY 10019
212.714.7722
Contact for BOOKINGS
About Ron Sunshine
As a graduate of Columbia University with a degree in English, I communicate well. As someone who has traveled all over the world and worked many different jobs in my youth (from oriental rug salesman to junkyard laborer to chauffeur to bartender), I have experience dealing with all kinds of people. I have slept in the most opulent five-star hotels in Palm Beach, and I have slept under a merry-go-round in Switzerland. I have sung at the world famous Rainbow Room in Manhattan in a tux, and I have played music on the streets of Paris for change. I’ve played in seedy nightclubs in New York, and I’ve played in a castle in Sweden. It is hard to find someone who has had more varied experiences in the music business than I have had.
My Philosophy as a DJ / MC
For me, it's all about the music. I am naturally not that talkative. If you are looking for a talkative MC who will always be on the microphone jabbering away, that is not me. That said, I will be happy to make any announcements you like. Whatever you provide for me to say, I will be happy to say it. On the other hand, if feel that your guests will need a "motivator" to get them going, I can always hire someone to perform that role. Whatever you can imagine for your party, we can get it done.
Ron Sunshine Biography
"Ron Sunshine is a star!" writes Kerry Burke of Citysearch.com, referring to the lead singer, songwriter, and harmonica player, and bandleader. Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Ron moved to New York City in 1981 to attend Columbia University where he earned a degree in English, studying under such notable poets and authors as Kenneth Koch, Amiri Baraka and Albert Murray. One of his classmates there was Barack Obama!
Since taking up music full time in 1990, he has performed and/or recorded with artists such as Dr. John, the P-Funk Horns, Wilson Pickett, Tower of Power, Charles Brown, Pinetop Perkins, David Johansen, Gary US Bonds, Medeski, Martin & Wood, AWB, and Johnny Copeland, as well as many top local bands like Blues Traveler, The Holmes Brothers, and Joan Osborne. He fell in love with music as a child, influenced by his four older sisters, who were an award-winning a capella harmony group, by his trumpet-playing father, and by weekly visits with his babysitter to a soul-stirring full gospel pentecostal church.
In 1994 Ron released his first CD, "Pick it Up," (a funky, bluesy record featuring Dr. John and the P-Funk Horns with 12 original songs), followed by "Soul Drug" in 1998 (jazz-inflected funky originals), "Straight Up" later that year (jump blues and swing, featuring a duet with Madeleine Peyroux), and "Candy" in 2001 (jazz standards). "Deluxe" came out in 2003, and featured the hit "Coffee & Reefer."
Ron’s long-awaited 6th full-length album, “Bring It Home,” will be released in late 2015 on the New York boutique label Rondette Jazz, run by Ian Hendrickson-Smith (Sharon Jones, the Roots), and Adam Scone. The new record will feature 7 new Sunshine originals, a few choice covers, and Ron’s ace 5-piece horn section on every cut.
From 1991 to 1998 Ron led two bands, the bluesy, funky Smoking Section, who were stalwarts on the club scene of the '90s that included Dan Lynch’s, Mondo Cane, Tramps, Louisiana Bar & Grill; and jazzy, jumping Full Swing, veterans of the Supper Club, Windows on the World, and the like. Nowadays, one band handles both repertoires, and more besides. Ron has also been heard performing on a regular basis with his big band at the fabled Rainbow Room atop Rockefeller Center, as well a long-running residency at Swing 46 in Midtown Manhattan.
Often playing over 200 shows per year, Ron Sunshine and his band have traveled the world, playing concerts, festivals and nightclubs, featured along the way on CNN, BET, NBC, Fox, BBC, and other international television, as well as numerous nationally released compilation CDs, books, films, hundreds of radio stations in the US and abroad, as well as in nationally televised advertisements.
Ron has recently been involved with the new HBO series, “Vinyl,” both as a musician and as an on-set consultant. The series, executive produced by Martin Scorcese, Mick Jagger and Terence Winter, will debut in 2016.
Popular with dancers as well as listeners, Ron Sunshine and his band continue to dazzle audiences from New York to Los Angeles, from Paris to Stockholm, from Bermuda to Red Bank. They also provide music for all kinds of special events, from corporate extravaganzas to intimate private soirees. Ron now lives just outside of NYC with his wife, model Feather Frazier, their two daughters, and Oscar the dog.