New York City recording artist Annette Strean and her husband Kirk Cornelius are performing a special concert in Whitefish on Saturday, Jan. 3 under the name Anniversary Party. Strean is a talented vocalist who grew up in Whitefish before moving to Nashville and making a name for herself with her electronic-pop band Venus Hum, as well as her performances with the legendary Blue Man Group.
Check out this video of Venus Hum performing with the Blue Man Group:
Venus Hum, originally based out of Nashville, was signed to MCA and BMG records, releasing their popular album Big Beautiful Sky (2003), with several songs featured in films such as “Catch That Kid” and various TV commercials in the U.S. and Europe, according to a press release. They won the International Dance Music Award for Best New Dance Artist in 2005. Their most recent album, “The Colors in the Wheel”, was released independently in 2006. With the Blue Man Group, Strean recorded a remake of Donna Summer’s hit “I Feel Love” for “The Complex” album, and after touring extensively with them, performed several times on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno as well as on Carson Daly Live. The song was also featured on a Superbowl commercial for Monster.com as well as the hit TV show Alias, on which Strean and her husband also had acting cameos at the producer’s request.
The upcoming show will be Strean’s first in her hometown since high school, although she performed as a lead vocalist with the Blue Man Group in a Missoula performance last winter. After moving from Nashville to New York City, Strean and her husband formed Anniversary Party as a creative outlet to perform around New York while Venus Hum was on hiatus. They recently recorded an album together which is due out in 2009. The duo features an acoustic-electronic sound reminiscent of Bjork, Radiohead, and Sigur Ros. Cornelius is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist whose own alternative rock band, The Suns of Norway, released an album in 2006.
Strean is the daughter of John and Karen Strean of Olney. She has two sisters living in the valley, April Boveng, a teacher at Flathead High School, and Collette Taylor, who works for Montana Coffee Traders in Whitefish.
Kalispell indie rocker Luke Dowler will open the show with a solo acoustic performance. Dowler is the leader of the band Veteran Green (formerly Three Minutes From Home). After three albums and several tours around the U.S. and overseas, he recently released a six song solo EP showcasing his emotive songwriting. Behind Counterfeit Smiles was recorded in Nashville with producer Aaron Sternke.
The concert will be at The Church (historic former Whitefish Foursquare church) at 345 Spokane Ave., Saturday, Jan. 3, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door and all ages are welcome.