Meet Annie Anna

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Annie Anna a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Annie, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
For me, what gets in the way of my creativity is the other obligations I have, like maintaining my house, going to work, classes, etc. The best way I’ve found to keep my creativity alive is by regularly carving out a space away from those distractions. I’ve found that if I’m able to clear my head of all the other stuff I have going on, I’m better able to tap into my creative, artistic side. It’s really easy for me to put music on the back burner while I focus on the more pressing stuff, and in the past, that has prevented me from working on my music all together. These days, I have to be very intentional about my time in order to make space for music, so I dedicate a minimum of an hour each week to writing/experimenting. I’ve also had to learn to accept that sometimes, nothing will come out of these sessions, and that’s okay.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’m a folk/folk rock singer/songwriter originally from a small-ish town in central Kansas and now based in Tucson. So far, my discography is a mixture of light-hearted and dark sounding songs, but generally, I tend to gravitate more towards the dark, moody side of my genre. Some of my favorite artists include Hozier, Matt Maeson, Fleetwood Mac, Ben Howard, Gregory Alan Isakov, and many others. In terms of themes, I don’t typically write from the standpoint of victimization and lean more towards empowerment and strength. I tend to use my music to tell stories and describe emotions and frustrations that I suppress in my day-to-day interactions, and because of that, I think what stands out most in my music is the emotion I put into it. My abilities as a singer lends to this, as I’m able to convey strong emotions through my voice.

So far, 2024 is off to a good start, as I have two songs in the works right now, one of which I wrote for my best friend’s wedding late last year. I also have three shows on the calendar right now. Two are on February 2nd and March 1st, both at Culinary Dropout in Tucson from 7-10 PM, and the third is at the Tucson Festival of Books on March 9th at 10 AM on their Songwriter Stage. If you’re interested in hearing me live, I’d love it if you stopped by!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
This may go without saying, but my achievements as a musician have been carried by my singing. I have been singing for about as long as I have been able to talk, and over time, I’ve developed a very emotional connection to singing that I don’t feel as strongly on other instruments. Don’t get me wrong, I think that I’m a decent guitarist/keyboard player/drummer, but I am infinitely better as a vocalist than I am as an instrumentalist, and in my music, I lean very heavily on my abilities as a singer to bring life to my songs.

Outside of skills, two qualities that have helped me grow as a musician are resilience and humility. Humility enables me to look at my songs or performances very objectively and pick out areas in which I need improvement. This always gives me a target for growth and helps ensure I am always working towards honing my skills and craft. Along with that, I’ve found that resilience needs to go hand-in-hand with humility in order to prevent any negativity from hindering my growth. I’ve made many mistakes as a musician and have had my fair share of less than stellar performances, and if I’m not careful, it’s easy to allow those ‘failures’ to drag me down and keep me stuck. Having the combination of resilience and humility allows you to see your flaws but move forward in spite of them.

My biggest piece of advice for anyone just starting out is to be kind to yourself. Not everything you do as an artist needs to be perfect, and it’s okay to write bad songs and make mistakes on stage. You have to allow yourself to make mistakes if you want to grow. Learn from your mistakes, forgive yourself for making them, and move forward. I also strongly encourage people to play to their strengths, as I have. Don’t let that prevent you from improving your skills elsewhere, but it’s good to know where you stand out so you can utilize your strengths appropriately.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I would love to do some collaborations with other musicians in the community. It makes most sense to say somewhat within my genre, but I will entertain any genre as long as I feel I can add something to the piece. I am also interested in collaborating with photographers or artists on artwork for my singles, and I’d be open to working with a videographer on promotional materials or music videos. If you’re interested in having me join you on a track or working with me on my own promotional materials, feel free to reach out via email (annieannamusic@gmail.com) or by filling out the contact form on my website! As a disclaimer, I’m juggling grad school, a full-time job, and my solo works right now, so depending on the amount of work needed on my end, you may need to be okay with a longer timeline.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Kerry Whelan, Nick Rodell

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