About René

What you’ll hear is best described as ”heady folk for the open-hearted.” René stands on the shoulders of his greatest influences (Jackson Browne, The Beatles, Billy Joel) and writes lyric driven songs and singable melodies that fit right into your favorite playlist alongside Josh Ritter, Jeff Tweedy, and The Avett Brothers.

This 90-second story below shares my reason for being a songwriter…

I spent the majority of my youth chasing a dream. I wanted to play professional soccer. Years of hard work and determination got me onto college teams at the Division 1 level. But after a few seasons of trying to keep up with the best players in the country … I was ready to call it quits. And so began a huge identity crisis to find out who I was and who I was meant to be.

I’d always been good at art, drawing, etc. So when I refocused on my education, I ended up getting a degree in graphic design. I’d found a new pursuit, and looked forward to making a living in a creative field.

After graduation, I accepted my first job at an ad agency. It was exciting and challenging, but after just one year, I felt completely empty. Deep down inside, I knew this wasn’t my dream either.

One November afternoon, I was browsing through the stacks of a local bookstore and stumbled across a book. It was called "I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was”. Written by therapist named Barbara Sher it is a half workbook, half motivational guide and it helped me to recognize that I had an unrealized dream in my heart: I wanted to be a songwriter. And as I looked into my past, I began to notice the signs of this longing scattered like dots on a paper just waiting to be connected.

There was only one problem, despite taking a few years of piano lessons, I couldn’t really play an instrument, particularly the guitar that had been sitting in my closet for years. So, I sold my car to pay for lessons at a prestigious music school in Washington, D.C.

The transformation was immediate. With the support of an experienced guitar instructor, my abilities improved dramatically. I went from writing my own songs and attending open mics, to playing shows and recording an album.

What started out as a dream, was now a reality. I felt a journey had been completed. But it was really just the first step in a much longer, winding path.

As the years went by. I continued playing, performing, and releasing new music. But the role music played in my life teetered on the fence between expensive hobby and a part-time pursuit. It wasn’t until a series of big life changes did I realize just how much music meant to me. Within the span of 5 years, I bought a house, got married, had a kid, survived a global pandemic, lost my father, and to top it off, changed jobs over 5 times. As you might imagine… having a kid and losing a parent within two years of each other makes you ask yourself some pretty hard questions. You are confronted with life and death in practically the same breath. But those job changes left me completely rudderless. It was as if the world was screaming at me, “This is not your path”.

Which brings me to this very moment, where I’m re-committing myself to making a life out of music. While the stakes are higher, my resolve has deepened; hardened by the lessons that only life can teach. Our time on this earth is precious and fleeting.. yet is full of dreams that can always be fulfilled.

Biography

René Moffatt is a Denver-based singer/songwriter serving up heavy pours of poignant lyrics and resonant melodies. Born and bred amid the boomtowns of North Texas, Moffatt, a self-described “late bloomer”, is hellbent on catching up with his own songwriting ambitions. Over the last decade, Moffatt has taken his latent knack for songwriting and turned it into a full-fledged pursuit manifesting into a handful of notable releases. His debut EP, Here And Now Is Home, was nominated for “Folk/Contemporary Album of the Year” by the Washington Area Music Association (D.C.). And the song “Demons On Your Sleeve” was given an Honorable Mention by the Songwriters Association of Washington. While residing in the nation’s capital, Moffatt performed at notable venues including IOTA Club And Cafe, The Hamilton, and The Smithsonian’s Luce Center.

In 2016, Moffatt followed his heart to Denver, Colorado and began making his mark on the Front Range music scene having performed at Globe Hall, Swallow Hill (Best of Open Mic), The Laughing Goat and KRFC’s “Locally Sourced”. 2017 saw the release of “What If I, What If You” the first single off the forthcoming album, Into Your Heart, a 4-song EP recorded at Denver’s Mighty Fine Studios with producer Klaus Larson (The Bell Hours). In addition to the new EP, 2020 will see the release of Moffatt’s second live, acoustic album, 8.26.19, which was recorded at Charley Pride’s recording studio in Dallas, TX.

René will release his second EP titled “All My Revelations”. CDs available on Friday, July 28th on his Bandcamp. The EP will hit streaming services in late September 2023.

A lifelong advocate for local music scenes, Moffatt started a local music initiative in Washington, D.C. called Listen Local First and currently serves on the Music Advisory Panel for Denver Arts & Venues’ Music Advancement Fund.

How I got here…



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Whether you are looking for a solo, acoustic opener, a private house concert, or a songwriter who just “fits the bill”, check out René’s EPK for more details on booking a show.

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René Moffatt is a Denver-based singer/songwriter serving up heavy pours of poignant lyrics and resonant melodies. Born and bred amid the boomtowns of North Texas…

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