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About Rufus Wainwright:
Praised by the New York Times for his “genuine originality,” Rufus Wainwright has established himself as one of the great male vocalists, songwriters, and composers of his generation. The New York-born, Montreal-raised singer-songwriter has released ten studio albums to date, three DVDs, and three live albums including the GRAMMY® nominated Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall. He has collaborated with artists such as Elton John, Burt Bacharach, Miley Cyrus, David Byrne, Boy George, Joni Mitchell, Pet Shop Boys, Heart, Carly Rae Jepsen, Robbie Williams, Jessye Norman, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Sting, and producer Mark Ronson, among many others. He has written two operas and numerous songs for movies and TV.
His 2020 GRAMMY® nominated studio album of original songs, Unfollow the Rules, finds Wainwright at the peak of his powers, entering artistic maturity with passion, honesty, and a new-found fearlessness. In 2023, he embarked on a journey to his family folk roots with his GRAMMY® nominated album Folkocracy featuring reinvented folk duets with artists like Chaka Khan, Brandi Carlile, John Legend and Anohni and many more.
His first musical of John Cassavetes’ Opening Night for the West End with Ivo van Hove premiered at the Gielgud Theater in March 2024. During this time he also completed his Dream Requiem, which premiered with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France in June of 2024 and featured Meryl Streep as the narrator. The recording of the performance was released via Warner Classics in January 2025, which was followed by the US premiere at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles featuring Jane Fonda as the narrator. Co-commissioners for the Dream Requiem are the Master Chorale in Los Angeles, the Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, the Helsinki Symphony Orchestra, the RTE Orchestra in Ireland, and the Royal Ballet London.
About Martha Wainwright:
Martha Wainwright is an internationally renowned singer songwriter, with over two decades of industry experience. Critically acclaimed for the rawness and emotional honesty of both her vocals and lyrics, her albums include: Martha Wainwright (2005); I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too (2008); Come Home to Mama (2012); the JUNO nominated Songs in the Dark (2015), a collaboration with her half sister Lucy Wainwright Roche; Goodnight City (2016); and her latest album Love Will Be Reborn (2021). She is also an actress and was featured in Martin Scorsese's Aviator and the HBO special, Olive Kitteridge.
Born into music royalty, the daughter of folk legends Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III and sister to the highly acclaimed, genre defying singer Rufus Wainwright, Martha grew up in a world filled with incomparable musical legends Anna McGarrigle, Leonard Cohen, Suzzy Roche, Richard and Linda Thompson, Emmylou Harris and struggled to find her voice in a milieu in which every drama was refracted through song. Then, in 2005, she released her critically acclaimed debut album, Martha Wainwright, containing the blistering hit, “Bloody Mother F*cking Asshole,” which the Sunday Times called one of the best songs of the year. That release, and the albums that followed showcased Martha’s searing songwriting style and established her as a powerful voice to be reckoned with
About Laurie Simmons:
Since the mid-1970s, artist Laurie Simmons has staged scenes to create images with intensely psychological subtexts and nonlinear narratives. By the 1980s Simmons was at the forefront of a generation of artists, predominantly women, whose use of photography began a new dialogue in contemporary art. Her work is included in many permanent collections worldwide. The Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth and The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago presented a major retrospective of Simmons’s work, titled Big Camera/Little Camera, in 2018-19. Simmons lives and works in New York and Connecticut.
About Folk Cancer: The Kate McGarrigle Project:
Folk Cancer: The Kate McGarrigle Project is a heartfelt collaboration between singer-songwriters Rufus and Martha Wainwright and Cancer Can Rock. The Wainwrights witnessed firsthand how songwriting and performing helped their mother, folk legend Kate McGarrigle, navigate the final months of her life with cancer. After her passing, Rufus and Martha have carried her legacy forward — supporting musicians facing aggressive cancer to record their songs, feel pride in their work, and preserve their legacy. In 2024, they joined forces with Cancer Can Rock, which has spent over a decade facilitating these recordings. In 2025, the project supported musician Daniel Valoff in recording and releasing 'There's Still a Light in the Sky,' with Rufus present in the studio for the session. For more information, visit FolkCancer.org
About Cancer Can Rock:
Cancer Can Rock is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides gifted musicians facing aggressive cancer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with top industry professionals, ensuring their musical legacy and contribution to the arts is preserved. For more information, visit CancerCanRock.org
About Murmrr Arts Foundation:
The Murmrr Arts Foundation (MAF) is a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to creating new opportunities for artists and bringing contemporary art into unexpected spaces and cultural experiences. Through artist commissions, exhibitions, live performances, and collaborations across disciplines, MAF seeks to remove traditional boundaries between visual art, music, literature, comedy, and performance.
MAF’s artist commission program invites leading contemporary artists to create or present work in connection with singular live events, allowing audiences to encounter art outside the traditional gallery or museum setting. The Laurie Simmons project marks the Foundation’s third artist commission, with proceeds from the sale of the artwork benefiting Folk Cancer: The Kate McGarrigle Project.
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Jim Merlis | jim@bighassle.com
Mia Gilling | mia@bighassle.com
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