Rona Kenan

Rona Kenan
Kenan on stage at the Israel Festival, 2009, Jerusalem.
Background information
Born	(1979-07-26) 26 July 1979 (age 37) Jaffa, Israel
Origin	Tel Aviv
Genres	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, Singing
Years active	1990s–present
Labels	NMC Music
Website	www.ronakenan.com

Rona (Aharona) Rachel Kenan (Hebrew: רונה קינן‎‎, born 26 July 1979) is an Israeli singer/songwriter.

Kenan was born on 26 July 1979. Her father is the late Amos Kenan and her mother is the scholar Nurith Gertz. She was attracted to music at a young age and learned to play the guitar. She graduated from the theater program at Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts, but preferred a musical career. At the age of eighteen she was considered a "discovery". She has cited the Beatles (particularly the song Blackbird), Leah Goldberg, The Pixies, Pina Bausch and Thelma Yellin as early influences.

In 1997 she participated in a song festival called Next, organized by musician Eran Tzur, in which she recomposed and performed songs by poet Yona Wallach. She also performed in an evening commemorating Inbal Perlmutter, a young poets' event, and an evening of Leah Goldberg's poetry. She played with several Israeli musicians, including Tal Gordon, Dana Berger and Asi Levi. In 1999 she and Gordon became a duo and recorded an album titled I Didn't Want It to End: Tal Gordon Hosting Rona Kenan. Kenan co-composed four of the album's songs. The album tour went on until late 2000. In 2001 she started touring solo with a show which included two instrument players beside her. She sang and promoted four songs that came out as a single. She sang mostly in English.

In 2002, she kept collecting material for her debut album and started working hard with Izhar Ashdot as producer. In 2003, she began appearing with her trio in Tel Aviv, along with multi-instrumentalist Adam Scheflan and drummer Omri Hanegbi. She released three songs from the album: "Transparent Love", "To Live Right" and "Flood". In 2004, she released her debut, Breathing Down to Zero. The album included eleven original tracks in both Hebrew and English, a cover version of a Yaakov Orland song, and an instrumental track titled "Thirst and Hunger". The album featured guest appearances by Maya Dunietz, Shlomi Shaban and Berry Sakharof. She said it was a challenge to write in her native language. After the album's release, she entered a state of deep depression. Her health deteriorated and she had to cancel shows. Taking Ashdot's advice, she moved back with her parents to recover. They decided not to share what she was going through with almost anyone.