Nickels & Dimes playing on the "back to the sixties" festival

René was born on the 14th August 1975, in Ede, Holland. He is the the third four children who were raised in a musical household as their dad played guitar and piano. René and his brother Robert, learned how to play the piano together, and at the age of ten, René learned his first guitar-chords.

In 1987, Jos van de Brom won a national musictalent competition on the Dutch television, the Soundmixshow. He sang "Leaving on a jet plane," by John Denver. René was overwhelmed by this song, which was to influence his choice of material when he learned to play the guitar at the age of 14. Arno Cornelissen, who would later join René's band"Nickels & Dimes" was his teacher. René's priority was to learn John Denver compositions, followed by songs written by some of his other musical heroes, including; Jim Croce, James Taylor and Gordon Lightfoot. During this period, René began to write his own songs and became passionate about music.

" The Golden Hawks." He gained valuable experience working with the other band members, who were all at least 40 years old.  After two years the band split up. His passion for creative songwriting continued and René enjoyed his first live solo performances.
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René Wingelaar, Stef Bos and Thomas Manetti

In 1998 he recorded his first cd with the following musicians;Thomas Manetti (electric guitar, saxophone, background vocals), Jan Boezen (piano, keyboards and background vocals), Bart van Veldhuizen (drums and percussion) and Arno Cornelissen (bass and acoustic guitar). All the songs on "The Wind sings the song" album were written by René.

Following the release of the cd, René and the guys were invited to perform at various venues in Holland. Another musician replaced Bart van Veldhuizen on drums and percussion.They formed the band "Nickels & Dimes. Popular cover songs were added to the band's extensive repertoire and the band entertained audiences with fun and enthousiasm till the end of 2008.

During that period Henk-Jan Velvis replaces Jan Boezen on piano and Magic Freddy replaced Henk-Jan and joined the band in 2004. One of their most memorable concerts was in June 2008, when the guys were honoured to share the stage with Stef Bos at a benefit concert for Africa.

In 2005 René renewed his connection with John Denver when he and Arno played at the John Denver Memorial Event in Aspen Colorado USA (the home of the late John Denver). The combination of John Denver songs and René's own compositions impressed the audiences in Aspen and an invitation to perform in the UK  followed. René's performances in England endeared him to his audiences.

René has recorded seven albums which include his own compositions and two cd's of popular coversongs (Coverroad and Discover).  (watch chapter cd's). All his songs are a reflection of René's  personal life experiences. The guitar has been René's closest companion for the past 20 years. The song "Guitar's company" which he wrote when he was 16 years old is included on the cd "Empty Hands." A beautiful string quartet is a perfect accompaniment to his heartfelt, sensitve ballads.

String quartet; Minke Huibers, Maurits van Stuyvenberg, Willemijn Stekeee, Erik Lieftinck 

René is a prolific songwriter with a desire to perform. Whether performing solo, as a duo, trio or with all bandmembers, he will create an athmosfere appropriate to  the occasion.

René is currently performing as the lead singer/guitar player, with The Real Music Revival.  The 5 men-band include:Thomas Manetti, Magic Freddy, Peter Doest, Daniël van der Molen and René. When you click on The Band, in the menu, you can find more specific information about these guys.

To enquire about bookings or cd's please complete the form on the Contact page.