— A Tribute to Linda Ronstadt —
With the upcoming Linda Ronstadt Biopic, the 2019 release of the documentary, “The Sound of My Voice,” and all the coverage of her battle with a Parkinson’s-like disorder called progressive supra nuclear palsy, it is fair to say that Linda Ronstadt’s public profile is as high as ever. The same holds true with the public’s desire to hear her music. Enter the Linda Ronstadt tribute band, Long Long Time featuring former Sony Music recording artist, Teresa.
When asked about the challenge of living up to those legendary vocals, Teresa remarked, “I am almost embarrassed to say I sing for a Ronstadt Tribute Band. I mean no one sings like Linda. Not only was her music the soundtrack of my youth, Linda Ronstadt was the artist who inspired me to chase my own dream of being a professional singer. I was even blessed to have worked with her in the recording studio. During the session, when she was laying down back-up vocals on one of my songs, a completely surreal experience, I turned to her and said, ‘Can’t you just sing lead?’ Linda smiled and modestly said, ‘No, it’s your record.’ I had made a comment about not being a trailblazer as she had been and she imparted this wisdom on me. She said, ‘Teresa, it’s not necessary to be original. What matters is that you are authentic.’ Words I adopted and continue to hold as a mantra.”
In fact, Teresa adopted the same philosophy in putting together her band of authentic, talented A-list musicians. Collectively they comprise Long Long Time, named for Ronstadt’s first solo radio hit. LLT transports its audience to the 70’s, the height of Ronstadt’s music popularity, and you’ll have an opportunity to hear them for yourself on March 9, 2024 when LLT hits the stage at the White Squirrel Brewery to kick off the Grand Opening of their Music/Event Venue. This also marks the band’s Bowling Green debut.
Buford Jones, who just received the 2024 Parnelli Audio Innovator Lifetime Award, will be mixing the show! Buford, who has enjoyed a 47-year career as a touring front-of-house mixer, not only helped define live sound, he happened to mix all of Linda Ronstadt’s tours. Among the “Who’s Who” of artists with whom he has collaborated are James Taylor, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, Three Dog Night, David Bowie, and 200 shows for Pink Floyd.
When asked about his collaboration with Teresa, Buford said, “I have known Teresa for about fifteen years now and I consider her a dear friend. I met her through some common friends in the music industry. I was very impressed with her music style and delivery and instantly became a fan! We started doing some professional work together and everyone loved her performances. Way Down Under was the first song that I started working on with her in my studio. I must have heard it 700 or 800 times and still love it. It’s a song that will never wear itself out. And I think that’s typical of Teresa’s abilities in her musical career. Certainly an amazing entertainer!”
“It’s exciting to be playing in Bowling Green, a town I consider my second home. And such an honor to have Buford mix. I consider him a national treasure. This will be my first time bringing the band to B.G.,” says Teresa, who has called Portland, Tennessee home for nearly two decades. Her farm is located halfway between Nashville and Bowling Green, and exactly one mile from the Kentucky state line, so we can safely claim her as one of our own. In fact, she proudly says, “I prefer driving North than South these days. I consider Bowling Green ‘The New Nashville.’ I think all of us miss the intimacy of Music City, and Bowling Green just feels like Nashville did when I first moved there.”
TERESA, who uses only her first name, is a singer-songwriter who brings her sunny disposition and positive approach to her music and her audiences. The Seven-Time College Entertainer of the Year and Two-Time Female Vocalist of the Year has performed her original music on more than 1000 campuses throughout the U.S.
She has shared the limelight with several major recording artists and graced the stages of many prominent venues at home, abroad and even outer space.
Originally hailing from Connecticut, Teresa began her music journey on the club scene, establishing herself as the Queen of the College Circuit before making her move to Nashville.
After settling in Music City, she signed a publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music, followed by a recording contract with Sony Music Nashville. She quickly became a critics’ darling. Says noted music historian, Robert K. Oermann, “When it comes to making music, Teresa is an unstoppable force of nature. She earned her living for more than a decade by being first to take her songs to an audience that most country-music acts didn’t even know existed, the college crowd.”
Teresa has penned hundreds of original compositions. Not only has she written captivating mainstream music, through her company “Your Song” she has found a niche in custom-writing musical anthems for various companies and organizations; among them, NASA, Southwest Airlines and Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. Teresa even custom-writes songs for celebrations that deserve an anthem. Teresa’s fresh approach to keynote presentations, combining music and message, has also kicked open the door to extraordinary opportunities, introducing her to new experiences, venues and audiences.
NASA selected the title track of Teresa’s CD, Brave New Girls, as the official wake-up song for the first female-commanded Space Shuttle mission. An invitation to perform at the historic STS-93 launch for a prestigious crowd was followed by an invitation to perform at the Paris Air Show for the launch of the International Space Station.
Teresa’s hip and wholesome music has also brought a new voice to Girl Scouting as they adopted “Brave New Girls” as their battle cry. It is Teresa’s “Girls Can Do Anything” theme that is woven through all the tracks on her “Being a Girl Scout” and “Girls Of Courage” CDs; a collection of songs she was commissioned to compose for the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. In 2012, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouting, G.S.U.S.A. Ambassador of Music, Teresa, led 250,000 girls in the world’s largest sing-a-long on the National Mall. Later she was invited to the White House to sing around a campfire on the White House lawn as girls camped, campfire singing led by Girl Scouts Ambassador of Music, Teresa Suber of Nashville, Tennessee.
Says Kathy Cloninger, author, motivational speaker and former CEO of Girl Scouts of the U.S.A, “Teresa’s music is the best thing since Thin Mints. Her original Girl Scout songs, and her spirit and power when she sings them, lift the spirit of every girl. Teresa is the role model for ‘Brave New Girls’.”
TERESA moves with ease from performance to performance. Whether entertaining a concert crowd with her evocative mainstream originals, moving the masses with her inspirational songs, or touching the hearts of Linda Ronstadt fans with her newest offering, Long Long Time, A Tribute to Linda Ronstadt, it is clear that the road is her middle name, the stage her home and the audience her family.
Robert K. Oermann further elaborates, “This is a can-do lady with gigantic reservoirs of resourcefulness, personality, spunk and ability. Teresa’s is a story of determination, hard work and perseverance, but she tells it with such gusto and humor that the whole thing seems like one effortless romp.”
New? For some listeners, yes. Brave? Her music certainly makes that case.
Catch her only area performance, March 9th at the White Squirrel Brewery, **$15 Advance WILL CALL Tickets available via Venmo: @Teresa-Suber / $18 at the door the night of the performance, unless SOLD OUT…
-by Lindsey Taylor
