Annie Stokes

Annie wrote me the sweetest note about my own music (yes, if you don’t know who writes all these lil blogs, I’m Jen Miller! *waves). It totally made my day and her kind, considerate personality came through immediately, so I’m glad to share a bit of her story.Annie didn’t always know she wanted to be a musician, but she always knew she’d be a performer. After growing up a steady diet of musical theater and an obsession for Broadway, she trained in musical theater for about a decade of her youth, until the concept of constantly auditioning led her to put her dream on the back burner. But in college, Annie found songwriting.

She shared a bit about the creative & production process of her album Livin’ Right:

“[I] was starting to feel disillusioned as to why I was a songwriter. Was it just to sing about my feelings? What was the end game? So I looked at something else I’m passionate about – activism and the environment – and I decided to make it a part of my career as an artist.”To Annie, her identities as an activist and as an artist are superfluous. “Music has this unparalleled ability to reach people and meet them wherever they are,” she said. “I remember lying on my mom’s bed feeling very depressed and dejected about the current state of affairs in America, and my mom told me that Bob Dylan and the protest folk artists of the sixties and seventies were influenced by the horrors of the Vietnam War and that now it was our turn to speak up. So I’ve always looked at music as this vibrant and uncontainable way to spread ideas and hope”.

“I’ve always looked at music as this vibrant and uncontainable way to spread ideas and hope.”
Even 10% of the proceeds from Annie Stokes’ album Livin’ Right goes towards something she cares deeply about. She works with Conservation Music – an organization based in Washington, D.C. – whose mission is to produce and promote musical media that educates listeners and viewers in conservation and sustainability, and to serve as a platform for similar efforts, with an emphasis on rural developing communities. Conservation Music was started by Alex Paullin, who is a familiar name in the DC music scene. She says, “This organization immediately spoke to me because it combines local musical traditions to create music media with a message of sustainability in rural areas in Africa. The premise is that people will connect more with conservation when it’s presented to them using their own culture, so I think it’s an innovative and respectful way of helping communities.” - Girl Gang Music

With a voice that encapsulates perpetual grace and versatile musicianship at her side, Annie Stokes’s sophomore album distills a bluegrass sentiment into the indie-rock barrel. Her lyrics draw from time spent in Appalachia and the production recalls Saddle Creek Record’s “Omaha Sound.” From Andrew Gabor’s muscled percussion driving through the title track (with a stomp-clap breakdown to boot) to Alexandra Touzinsky’s sorrowful violin on “Big Church,” each musical element complements the proceedings. The album ends with a reassuring ukulele lullaby that promises safety and eventual reunion. Partial sale proceeds go to the environmental organizations Conservation Music and Trees, Water & People. - Whurk Magazine

Singer-songwriter Marie Digby is looking for the next way to get out of her comfort zone.

“I think it’s time to do something again that scares me because that’s when I make the most growth,” Digby said.

Marie Digby, Annie Stokes

When: 7:30 p.m. April 2

Where: Jammin Java, 227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna

Tickets: $12-$15

More information: 703-255-1566; http://www.jamminjava.com

The 31-year-old songstress will take her talents to Jammin Java on April 2, which is just the start of her upcoming plans.

Digby rose to fame on YouTube, gaining a following after posting a video of herself doing an acoustic cover of Rihanna’s 2007 megahit, “Umbrella.”

“I think it was a combination of catching that song as it was rising, and at the time there weren’t many people doing acoustic covers of pop songs ...” Digby said. “I could make you listen to it in a way you didn’t when you heard it on the radio.”

Digby has five albums and in August 2014 released her first independent EP, “Chimera.”

“I learned so much, it was very educational,” Digby said. “It was harder than I expected. You can’t just pop out an EP and hope that it’s going to float.”

Now Digby’s looking to make her next album, returning to her roots both physically and musically. She will work with Tom Rothrock, with whom she collaborated on her first album, “Unfold,” and they’re trying to record the album outside in a way that’s “very green, battery-powered” over the summer.

“I was honored that he even said yes to work on this,” Digby said. “This time I’m going to be doing it probably with the help of my fans, and with a much smaller budget, but I’m hoping we can do something amazing.”

Annie Stokes, a Leesburg native, will open for Digby at the show. Stokes released her first official project in December, a three-song EP called “Ponygirl,” which has hints of Americana, indie and country vibes, and also is working on a full-length album due for a summertime release.

The 25-year-old Stokes said she admires Digby and is inspired by her career path.

“I really like that she started off on YouTube,” Stokes said. “I think there’s something very sweet and organic about her getting people’s attention by being herself and putting herself out into uncharted territories.”

Those uncharted territories included releasing three studio albums with Hollywood Records before a yearlong move in 2011 to the place where she found the most support on YouTube — the Philippines.

“It was the first time I realized I could do anything I want to do,” Digby said. “I had always played it safe, and I wanted to see how far I could go out of my comfort zone.”

She ended up signing a record deal and creating an album specifically for her Filipino audience.

Digby’s feelings about performing on stage have changed over the years. “If you would have asked me this when I first started out as an artist, I would say hands down I just love being in the studio and writing songs,” Digby said.

She described herself in the beginning of her career as shy, and said she would have “knots in my stomach for a week before a show.”

“The only possible mistake you can make in a live show is not being present or not singing your songs from your heart,” Digby said. “When I realized that I relaxed, and I began to really enjoy the process of sharing my songs.”

Both Digby and Stokes feel emotional connections with the audience during live performances, saying they enjoy sharing their experiences through the power of music.

“I really like connecting with people,” Stokes said. “You find out that even if your experience is unique, you haven’t been experiencing it alone.”

“I have grown to love live performances,” Digby said. “You’ve somehow made a connection with a stranger in the room and they feel exactly as you feel.

“I guess what I always hope from the audience and what they get out of the show is that they feel something and that they forget the mundane routines of life and that they remember what its like to be human and have hope and love ... I just want to make them feel,” Digby said. - Fairfax Times

I’ve lived in the D.C. area nearly all my life and there’s been periods (decades, really) where the music scene was pretty bleak. However, in the last few years I’ve noticed a massive creative resurgence with fantastic local bands opening for national acts, music venues popping up in all kinds of quirky places (people’s living rooms, breweries, I once saw a show at an abandoned playground) and a steady stream of regional talent flooding my social media feeds. The latter is how I came across Annie Stokes. We both happened to be from the area, and we both happened to have graduated from the same mountainy liberal arts college. So, randomly clicking through some of her EP recordings wasn’t a total coincidence, but my generally low expectations were met with some surprisingly beautiful sounds. Her music is diametric. Its simultaneously eerie and soothing. Last week I got the chance to sit down with Annie and talk about her recent video, hometown and upcoming tour.

Brightest Young Things: Aesthetically,”Wrecker” sounds like it belongs on the opening credits of True Detective and the video plays this up with its shadowy folk-lore undertones. How did you end up meeting and collaborating with Patrick Mason on that project?

Annie Stokes: That’s funny story! Western Loudoun County has this vibrant, semi-hidden artistic community and once you start knocking over dominos you realize everyone’s connected. I did community theater when I was younger, and through that I met Emily, who is now my stylist and half of the band Emy&Ethan. She and her husband had worked with Patrick before on some music videos and she gave me his name. And then we both just clicked because we unapologetically wanted something dark and creepy.


BYT: Where did you grow up?

AS: I was born in Maryland outside of D.C., and when I was thirteen I moved to Loudoun County in northern Virginia. So most of my formative years occurred on the cusp of the DC sprawl and rural Virginia. My mom played me Alison Kraus and Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash growing up, so I was already drawn to folk and Americana, and in my teens I really became attracted to Appalachian culture and bluegrass music. I think those were some of my first live music experiences that really impacted me.

BYT: So you definitely had a good rotation of the classics as a kid. When did you start doing solo performances?

AS: I was 21 and I had just graduated college. I started out doing very small shows in my town, like backyard gigs or sidewalk gigs during First Friday.

BYT: I think I read somewhere that you learned guitar later in life? Which, with the work you’ve put out, is pretty impressive.

AS: Thank you! Yeah, I got my first guitar for my 21st birthday and spent my entire senior year of college teaching myself. The hardest part was honestly working through the blisters on my fingertips when I started playing.

BYT: Yeah, those can be brutal. What I like most about your music is it’s mystique. Is that a sound you consciously aim for?

AS: Yes and no. I feel like when a musician finds a sound, it’s a naturally subconscious thing — you are just drawn to that. But when I landed on it I was careful to cultivate it because I feel like it represents me the clearest. I’ve written pop and country songs and never released them or performed them, because it’s just not my sound.

BYT: I know this video just came out but what’s next for you in general?

AS: I would love to work with Patrick again. It was a great experience. I think right now as we are prepping the album release we are focusing more on single releases and some light touring around the area but down the road I would love more music videos.

BYT: Do you have a set date for that? And who are you releasing it through?

AS: Our tentative release date is late September. I’m releasing it independently, but it will be available on every digital platform and physically available at my shows and through the online store. Before that we are releasing two singles — “Wrecker” and another one.

BYT: You’ve played a lot of interesting local venues in the last couple of years. Do you have one that you feel particularly at home?

AS: Yeah, I love playing wineries. It’s so peaceful. Three Fox Vineyards, coincidentally, would have to be my favorite. My next show is at Three Fox Vineyards on July 11th, and then I have one at Jammin Java on July 14th

Follow Annie Stokes on Twitter @AnnieCStokes - Brightest Young Things