Anna Vogelzang

Here's one of the best things about the era when records no longer sell a lot of copies: Songwriters aren't being pressured to follow the same tried-and-true formulas. Madison's Anna Vogelzang makes the kind of songs that thrive in this brave new world. They're high on diverse instrumentation, original melodies and unusual lyrics.

On her new CD, Canary in a Coal Mine, she adds fiddle, clarinet, accordion and cello, among others. On "Die Trying," the strings have a melancholy sound as Vogelzang expresses anguish and self-doubt. "What if this is not my best?" she wonders.

Vogelzang came to Madison via Chicago in 2008, and she won the Madison Songwriters Guild Song Showdown competition in 2009. The competition features monthly shows and monthly winners who face off in an end-of-year battle.

Her new CD features noteworthy guest appearances, including Franz Nicolay, formerly of the Hold Steady. - Madison Isthmus

The songs on Anna Vogelzang’s new album, Canary in a Coal Mine, are disarmingly simple in their approach. From lullaby opener “Undertow”, to the dueling imagery of placidity and explosiveness in “Volcanoes”, to clear-eyed closer “Birdfeeders”, each set of images feels fresh and understated. “I come home broken, bruised like a peach / You make a fruit pie, and two whiskeys neat—like summertime,” she intones on the opening track, setting the stage for an album packed with surprising turns and meaningful moments.

The exquisite lyrical craftsmanship on Canary in a Coal Mine is matched by Vogelzang’s incredible vocal range, evoking everyone from Regina Spektor to Ani DiFranco, shifting between delicate lilt and evocative howl at will. Behind her vocals is a series of strong arrangements and musical performances from a stable of incredible performers; personnel from the Hold Steady, Dresden Dolls, and Blondie collaborate to create a full-bodied folk-pop sound that few albums this year—folk, pop, or otherwise—will match.

Vogelzang writes mainly about relationships. “Texas” is a near-acapella opera of heartbreak that Amanda Palmer is kicking herself for not writing first. “One & Only” is a folk/doo-wop hybrid love song with trumpets and multi-tracked vocals that’s just as crazy as it sounds, and twice as awesome. “When You Go” is about the inevitability of leaving, and “Whiskey Drawn” is a sly kiss-off to a former lover: “You will never own the stars / Sad moonshine eyes in every bar - so keep drinkin’.” Whether inviting her exes to alcoholism or sweetly recalling new affections, Vogelzang doesn’t idealize or demonize relationships. Her tales of lost love and future hope are like photographs, a series of objects, shades, and colors presented in beautiful, objective detail. It’s for the viewer to determine what everything means. To me, Vogelzang’s songwriting is much like that canary in a coal mine: representative of hope and disaster in equal measure.

- Adam Finley, 23 February 2012 - Pop Matters

"I'm not even sure how to describe this album besides imagining a very specific group of women in my life dancing around in a circle to it. It’s kind of a pop-folk mixture but with some really impressive and layered instrumental arrangements complete with fiddles, a horn section and an accordion. (Little known secret: I’ve kind of got a thing for accordions. I’m pretty sure it has something to do with Sheryl Crow). This won’t suit every mood but it did the trick to put a smile on my face this morning." - Mia Jones 2/29/12 - After Ellen

Madison, Wisconsin’s Anna Vogelzang has a voice that can knock down a listener, clashing from a sweet, nearly conversational tone into a confident country-girl howl.

Her slower-tempo songs would fit well in a K Records roster, thanks to her sweet mosey, lovable and, at times, precious and intimate numbers (“Canary” and “Volcanoes”). The pacing of Canary In A Coal Mine is terrific. She follows slow balladry with ambitious and busy ensemble pieces that feature guitars, percussion, banjos, horns and strings like her extraordinary “Whiskey Drawn,” which juxtaposes a thirty-second vocal introduction with a great turn featuring rambling, strummy guitars, fiddles and Vogelzang’s strong-willed female tone. The frenzied “Whiskey Drawn” conjures images of long-nights of boozy dancing, Southern Comfort and Neko Case’s flaring octaves.

Vogelzang’s poetry swirls with the newness of love and the invincible feeling of meeting someone who instigates the requisite, almost infinite, elation of the honeymoon, singing “It’s so hard to come clean / It’s so hard to name all your wishes out loud … still my full heart sings you are my one and only” (“One & Only”). All told, Vogelzang’s latest release is varied and jubilant, showcasing an ambitious country-gal’s precious and strapping female-fronted songwriting. (Paper Anchor Music)
- Christopher Petro, 2/29/12 - Performer Magazine

Banjo, guitar and zither swim in languid string quartets, spritely thumb pianos and fretful squeezeboxes, transporting, “Canary,” through cajoling art-folk mojo, heel-kicking kinderpop and fan dance chicanery. Lit by lithe reason and cushioned in optimistic speech, classically trained and personally inspired renegade East Coaster and Madison foundling Vogelzang seduces in footloose truces, baking moon-pie manifestos outlining fun, wonder and comfort. - January 2012 - Maximum Ink Magazine

Top 10 Albums of the Year
Anna Vogelzang “Canary in a Coal Mine” (Paper Anchor Music)

Though many of the songs on the folk-leaning “Canary” were written in the midst of a family tragedy, the album itself is almost universally optimistic. “We each live with a shadow,” sings the big-voiced Vogelzang atop a steady thrum of banjo on “Volcanoes.” “Yours will not get me.” This is the sound of sunlight breaking through the storm clouds. - 77 Square / Madison.com

AUSTIN, Texas — During a recent performance at the South by Southwest music festival, Madison singer-songwriter Anna Vogelzang somehow made the second floor of a noisy Mexican restaurant feel like an intimate setting.

“I’m going to attempt this quiet song against my better judgment,” she said, introducing a shattering version of “Undertow,” the opening tune on her excellent new album, “Canary in a Coal Mine.”

Alternating between acoustic guitar and banjo, Vogelzang, who was born and raised in Boston and moved to Madison in 2008, turned out a five song mini-set dense with songs about people falling in and out of love. In the small space, nestled amongst psychedelically painted ceramic frogs clinging haphazardly to the walls, her voice carried well, and when she belted out the chorus of “Heart Beat Faster,” a woman in the audience spontaneously shouted, “You got it goin’ on!”

She’s not wrong. Vogelzang is a powerful singer, and it’s tempting to describe her voice in terms typically reserved to describe forces of nature.

Between songs, the singer, decked out in a yellow dress roughly the color of the restaurant’s walls, joked about her experiences traveling to SXSW — a 22-hour, two-day stretch that included an overnight stop in Kansas City, Mo. “I like Texas more than I thought I would,” she said, “but I did get called a Yankee driving down here.”

Seated in a coffee shop on Madison’s west side just a few weeks earlier, Vogelzang, 27, sounded excited about performing in Texas and the looming release of her latest record, which happened in late February.

Despite the challenging circumstances surrounding the creation of “Canary in a Coal Mine” — many of its songs were written after her grandfather was diagnosed with a brain tumor in October 2010 — the album is far from a dour affair, projecting a sense of optimism that mirrors her late grandfather’s outlook on life. Indeed, even after doctors gave him less than a year to live, he never lost his wicked sense of humor.

“We had a couple of conversations when he was first diagnosed,” said Vogelzang. “And he was like, ‘I’m finding all these silver linings, like, I won’t be old enough to have my kids watch me fall apart. And I won’t have to sit around and watch Sarah Palin run for president.’”

Shortly after her grandfather’s diagnosis, the singer retreated to the Green Lake home of a family friend to begin work on what would become “Canary.” She started by collecting bits of lyrics she’d jotted down in notebooks and on receipts, parking tickets and bar napkins, spreading out nearly two years worth of material on a large picnic table in the lake house’s ample kitchen. She then, in a very real sense, started to gather her thoughts, arranging these scattered fragments, finding connections and piecing them together into finished songs.

The physical process of collecting these snippets and looking for order amid the chaos mirrored the way she came to terms with her grandfather’s illness. The completed album serves as a stirring documentation of this time.

Early on, there are far more questions than answers, Vogelzang singing: “Are you OK? Or have you gone dark again?”; “What if this is not my best?”; “Would you say the coast is clear now?”

Answers start to arrive near the midpoint with “Volcanoes,” a banjo-flecked statement of purpose where Vogelzang brushes aside the dark clouds gathered overhead, singing, “We each live with a shadow/Yours will not get me.”

It’s possible to trace this growth throughout “Canary.” On album opener “Undertow,” Vogelzang describes her heart as a landmine ready to burst. But by the time “Birdfeeders” rolls around to close things out, she’s talking about disarming and laying her rifles down. Vogelzang penned “Birdfeeders” the night of her grandfather’s funeral, and the circumstances likely fueled the song’s sense of closure.

“My grandmother wanted me to read at the service, and the Scripture (2 Corinthians 4:16-18) opened with the words, ‘So we do not lose heart,’” said Vogelzang. “I went home that night and wrote that song. It was one of those that almost exists on its own and materializes out of the ether.”

While “Canary” might be touched by sadness, it’s also undeniably optimistic — the sound of someone confronting hard times and learning to soldier on. “I know this record is pretty dark at some points,” said the singer, “but I also feel like it’s super hopeful.”

It’s a reflection of the upbeat demeanor Vogelzang inherited directly from her grandfather. In person, she can come across like a cheerful drama club alumna, which turns out to be exactly the case. The singer traces her community theater roots back to fifth grade and has logged starring roles in everything from “Guys and Dolls” to “Fiddler on the Roof” and “My Favorite Year.”

Longtime friend Emily Hope Price, who played cello and sang backing vocals during the New York City recording sessions for “Canary,” confirmed this initial impression, describing the singer as “boisterous and dramatic.”

“When she walked into a room you just looked at her,” she said. “And that is absolutely still the case.”

Vogelzang grew up surrounded by music. Her mother worked as a middle school music educator and performed in the Boston Lyric Opera as part of the opera’s chorus, and her father regularly sang in the church choir. She started taking piano lessons at a young age, and got her first guitar when she was just 12 years old, though the instrument didn’t really take hold until she turned 16 and decided she needed a new vehicle for the songs she was writing.

The singer’s music was heavily influenced by singer-songwriter types like Jewel and Ani DiFranco in those earliest days. Then, during her senior year at Lexington High School outside of Boston, she joined her first band, Random Robot, a funk/soul/rock hybrid that covered everything from the Beatles to Stevie Wonder.

During this time, Vogelzang also grew close to Amanda Palmer, singer for the Boston-based punk cabaret duo Dresden Dolls, who graduated from the same high school and was an important early mentor. Palmer taught the singer about the music business and even contributed financially to her debut solo effort, which she recorded while attending Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

The Dresden Dolls connection doesn’t end there. In recent years, Vogelzang has opened for Palmer on her solo tours, and Dolls drummer Brian Viglione even manned the kit on her new record.

“We were all very close for several years before the Dolls really started touring heavily, and Anna was with us for many shows, often singing with us on ‘Delilah,’” Viglione wrote in an email. “(She) has an amazingly powerful and versatile voice that can cut right to the emotional core of a song.”

This voice was on full display during Vogelzang’s showcase at SXSW in Austin. Whether armed with a banjo or the acoustic guitar she “borrowed” from her father nearly a decade ago, her powerful pipes, honed by years of opera training (she initially planned to study opera in college before opting to craft her own major around sound recording, jazz guitar and creative writing, a track she referred to as “singer-songwriter 101”), echoed through the small venue. Indeed, even the singer’s last name, Vogelzang, roughly translates to “bird song” in Dutch, adding to the sense she was destined to end up in front of a microphone.

While she’s long displayed a vocal prowess, Vogelzang comes into her own as a songwriter on “Canary,” shedding the influences that defined past efforts.

“If you go back and listen to her old songs you can really hear the Kate Bush and Ani DiFranco,” said Price. “And with each album she’s whittled down those influences and grown more into her own style. (‘Canary’) is a beautiful record.”

Viglione agreed, writing: “I felt she was letting the music breathe in a way I had not heard her do yet. You can hear the growth in the songwriting by leaps and bounds.”

Vogelzang, for her part, views her early albums as part of a larger learning process, saying: “It was me figuring out my voice. And every record has been another step in that.”

Count this year’s SXSW appearance as yet another of those steps. Vogelzang has wanted to perform at the festival for years, and finally carved out the time to make it work, saying, “It’s just something you need to do as a band. It’s a Texan rite of passage, if you will.”

During an exhausting week in Austin, the singer caught up with old acquaintances (“It’s like a giant summer camp, and all my friends and the bands I love just happen to be here,” she said), performed at a handful of DIY showcases and worked on growing her ever-expanding fan base.

“I’m not sure if SXSW is the tipping point from local to national (recognition),” she said. “But it’s definitely a step in that direction.”

- Andy Downing, March 2012

Read more: http://host.madison.com/entertainment/music/madison-singer-songwriter-anna-vogelzang-brings-her-powerhouse-voice-and/article_3b96cf36-4737-53db-b0e8-0b062135ebfb.html#ixzz2rAIZKh8Q - 77 Square / Madison.com

Music can nourish the soul and provide food for thought, but unfortunately, it can't be eaten when times get tough. Luckily, a group of local musicians have found a way to turn songs into sustenance: Wintersong, an all-ages holiday show at the Majestic Theatre on Dec. 6.

Singer-songwriter Anna Vogelzang hosts the second annual event, which comes on the heels of her fall tour. Proceeds benefit the Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin, which serves more than 140,000 hungry Wisconsinites each year. Vogelzang and the other artists on the roster -- Count This Penny, Dietrich Gosser, PHOX, Whitney Mann, Crane Your Swan Neck, Corey Hart and Paul Otteson -- will perform acoustic sets that turn a cold winter night into a warm celebration of community.

Wintersong is also an ode to Madison's spirit of giving. The 2012 event sold out the Gates of Heaven synagogue at James Madison Park and resulted in $885 in cash donations and 158 pounds of food. Vogelzang was floored by the event's success and sees potential for it to grow each year. In fact, the response to the 2012 show was so overwhelming that she feared having to turn people away in 2013.

"There was an amazing feeling and energy in the air that night. It was completely packed, sweaty and all acoustic, unplugged. It was very intimate," she says.

Vogelzang wanted to replicate that feeling in 2013 while also accommodating a larger audience. Soon she and her team turned to the Majestic Theatre for help.

"We decided to team up with the Majestic in order to support a larger audience, and we hope to raise more money for Second Harvest while keeping that intimate, acoustic feel that was so special last year," she says.

Though Wintersong is primarily a philanthropic event, Vogelzang also sees it as a celebration of family and holiday spirit. The idea for the fundraiser originally came from her husband and bandmate, Andrew Young.

"[He] and I make a Christmas record every year for our families. In 2011, at a late-December show at the Project Lodge, we played one of our original holiday tunes, which was comical, to say the least." she says. "He said after the show, 'It'd be awesome to do a winter show where everyone covered holiday songs next year.'"

Vogelzang decided to turn his idea into a reality. Making the concert into a charity event seemed like the ideal way to spread the holiday spirit and thank the music community for another year of support, she says.

With more than eight albums and several national tours under her belt, Vogelzang has a lot to be thankful for. Having built a large network of fans and fellow musicians in the local music community over the past decade, she simply emailed friends to pull together the original Wintersong roster.

"It basically ended up being my dream Madison folkie lineup," she says. And a few of the performers say Wintersong was the highlight of 2012 for them, too.

"Being in a beautiful room with so many of our favorite musicians, singing songs that are woven into so many memories, it might actually be impossible to top that," says Amanda Rigell of Count This Penny. And Whitney Mann says members of several Wintersong acts became friends -- or even better friends -- thanks to the event.

The evening was also a chance to get creative with a theme, Mann says.

"It's interesting to see what everyone comes up with for holiday songs, traditional or original," she notes.

In addition to covering Christmas carols and other holiday favorites, some of the performers have penned songs that reflect different facets of wintertime in Wisconsin.

"I'm pretty sure each act will pull out something surprising or one of a kind. Never-before collaborations, new songs, old songs," Mann says. "It's that kind of show. We just let our hair down and have a good time."

To surprise the performers and the audience, Vogelzang is keeping some of the event's details under wraps. Though she hints that reindeer antlers and Santa hats may make an appearance, she insists the real stars of the show are "giving, warmth and friendship." - Isthmus

A folk-pop trifecta -- Pearl and the Beard, PHOX and Anna Vogelzang -- won over the Majestic Theatre's crowd Friday night with sweet harmonies, cute instruments (kazoo, glockenspiel, melodica) and even cuter melodies.

Local songbird Anna Vogelzang set the show's tone with some pretty little acoustic numbers. In a very "it's a small world after all" twist, Emily Hope Price of Pearl and the Beard joined Vogelzang and revealed that she was Vogelzang's TA in college. Together they sang a couple of songs from Vogelzang's latest album, Canary in a Coal Mine, including the beautifully fragile "Undertow." Later, all three members of Pearl and the Beard accompanied Vogelzang for a harmonious sing-along on "One and Only." It was an appropriate choice: Vogelzang explained that she's getting hitched in a week, and that Pearl and the Beard will perform at the wedding.

Next up was PHOX, Madison's latest buzz band. They just released their debut album, Friendship. It's loaded with folk-pop gems like "Kingfisher," this set's opening tune. PHOX finished their first tour only a day before the show, and it sounds like the road treated them well. Lead vocalist Monica Martin guided the other PHOX five (Matt Holmen, David Roberts, Matt Roberts, Jason Krunnfusz, Cheston Van Huss) through a collection of catchy, upbeat songs and harmony-rich ballads. The crowd shushed at chatterboxes during a hauntingly beautiful closer, "Laura (Oh Girl)."

"I hope you brought your clap machines," announced Jeremy Styles as he and the rest of Pearl and the Beard took the stage. Styles, along with Jocelyn Mackenzie and Emily Hope Price, looked like they walked straight out of a Portlandia sketch about hipster bands, with their matching black horn-rimmed glasses, quirky instruments and of course, a beard (on Styles, that is). You shouldn't judge a book by its cover, though. The trio soon launched into the fun, clap-happy "Douglas Douglass." Within 30 seconds, the floor was shaking from the eager crowd's stomp-along. With striking dynamics, Pearl and the Beard exhibited impressive control over their instruments and shared vocals.

Whether they're performing a delicate, acoustic song like "Swimming" or their rowdy closer "Hot Volcano," Pearl and the Beard harmonize sublimely. - Madison Isthmus

July 2010
The Girl with the uke, the banjo vixen, the guitar goddes – whatever you feel like callin’ her she’s back to give us what we want! What we demand and deserve! MUSIC OF THE HIGHEST FREAKIN’ CALIBER. There. I said it. Anna V is good – we dare you to love her as much as we do.

- The Isthmus - Madison Isthmus

June 2010
I was a little worried when Anna took her place on some rocks by the water, guitar at the ready. The view was amazing, the skyline was clear and the water shining, but with my one meager microphone, it was a challenge. I sat it down by her feet, bending the tripod to make the mic face upwards towards her. It didn't help that she's taller than I am. But like most of these sessions, I really just go for it and see how everything comes out on the other side. I gave her the signal and wow. Anna's voice is amazing. It was melodic and blasted through all the winds of the Windy City, through people, through traffic, everything. Problem solved!

- Kevin de Wilde - Pollifax Blog

2004
The most prolific singer/songwriters have common ground. They're talented poets and gifted musicians, of course, but the quality that sets them apart is their ability to maintain the delicate balance between the two. The music is not background noise for the lyrics, and the lyrics aren't lost in the music. They pair the two together so that they make each separate element stronger.
Anna Vogelzang puts words to music seamlessly. Her poetry is flowing and blunt. She accentuates it perfectly with her off-beat rhythms and unusual piano style. It's impossible to dismiss the similarities between her style and that of Fiona Apple, or even Ani Difranco. The main difference between them, however, is that Anna's sound lacks the polish that comes with a more "produced" record.

Reminiscent of both Apple and Difranco, Anna’s sound has elements of both folk and jazz, but she doesn't subscribe fully to one genre or the other. Nor are these the only influences you come across when listening. With songs like "Bad Habit," its akin to an acoustic version of punk rock. With the combination of all these sounds, she gives an edgy, exciting performance.

Typical of a live album, there are a few, small flaws. It takes a couple songs for the tempos to even out, and the overall sound quality is a bit hollow. Surprisingly, her poetry reading ("Hourglass") lacks the excitement, rhythm and vocal emphasis that her music exudes. That said, there are far more standout moments than flaws that make this album shine, particularly "Ballad for an Insomniac" with soulful lyrics, "I am not used to a caffeinated bed or this splintered dance/but the seashell in your hair, the webs laid in your arms, they gave me a spellbound chance." Another great moment was during "This Mess We're In," where additional instruments and harmonies are brought in to add a whole new dimension.

Anna Vogelzang is a gifted poet, musician and performer. This album is definitely worth having, and listening to daily!

by Erin Mackin - Undress Me Robot

2/13/08
Anna Vogelzang took our attention next, with little announcement save for a request that steamed and blended drinks be saved for after the set. God, that really bothers me. The drinks I mean. Oh well.

Percussive blasts from the guitar were the true heralding of Anna's first "up, up and away-hey-eh" joint, complimented by climbing violin strains from Joe. Rapid lyricism cascaded finally into a fading chorus and formal introduction. Various and sundry names for the tour were thrown about as jokes before the next song was introduced as being penned for Paris Hilton during her "tough" stay behind bars. Indeed, "we love to watch you suffer" rings true, at least for me, not so much the "I love your hair" echoed into infinity towards the end, but the bright charisma carried me to the climax nevertheless.

The following ballad, a finger-picker, was a definite example of Joe's flourishing violin skills. Swirling trills at the refrain gave the old slow-burner the added heat to convince of us of the intended warmth spoken of in the lyrics. However it was "Philly", Anna's recollections of her one time of home in Philadelphia that rang out more magnificently still, bursting forth through crisp falsetto resolving to diminished chords and an instrumental bridge showcasing a charming solo ending in a quiet verse of burning memories.

A rousing rendition of The Beatles' "Your Mother Should Know" came next, with violin harmonizing vocals on the spiraling "sing it again" pre-choruses. An anecdote about actually stopping in Cleveland for the previous night's show preceded "Family Band," a song that begins with the line "how about we move to Cleveland." For the record, apparently Anna would never want to actually move there.

A little cowboy ditty completed the set, a self-proclaimed "quiet version of an already quiet song" that was enhanced by the pleasantly surprised smiles exchanged between the players as correct notes blended together in this new rendition. Dylan stepped up to join Anna on a duet where they played mock lovers. Joe spotlighted once more with quiet plucks of the guts at the start of the evening's closer, "Hymn for a Parents." What a hero, that Joe.

- Minor Rock Star
The Dragon's Keep, Ft. Wayne, IN - Fahrenheit 128

4/17/07
Along with actors and robots, Carnegie Mellon has a newly found penchant for supporting pop music. This semester, two CMU students used the production and release of an album as their final project.
"I designed my own major, called 'creative music production,'" explains senior Anna Vogelzang. "It's a synthesis of classical vocal performance, jazz guitar and voice, creative writing and music history, and the last component is music technology."

These different scholastic aspects have kept Vogelzang busy since she finished her first independent study unit, the 2005 debut CD Some Kind of Parade. "That first one was all the songs I've ever written. But the second one was about working with a goal in mind to create an album. And on top of that, I had to do two recitals." Vogelzang's senior recital combined Mozart, Rossini and Bernstein with Anton Jobim tunes and jazz art songs her teacher, Joe Negri, wrote for her. She also performed four of her own tunes with her band of jazz-program grads.

The end product will be The Things That Airplanes Do, an album mastered at Capitol Records by Rich McMaster, the man behind the Blue Note reissues. CMU's vice president of enrollment, Michael Murphy, graciously footed much of the bill to make Vogelzang's opus a reality.

Don't expect Vogelzang to stick around for very long after graduation -- hey, this is Pittsburgh, right? -- but you can check [her] out live at the CMU Carnival. Anna appears on Sat., April 21 at 2 p.m. You might witness an erudite pop star in the making.

-- Manny Theiner
- Pittsburgh City Paper

3/17/08
This Week's Band: Anna Vogelzang
Lately I’ve been inundated with hard, heavy, ear-splitting rock. Over the last few weeks Chicago Metal Factory, Taste of Chaos, SOiL, Bobaflex and The Autumn Offering have given me neck aches from all the head-banging I’ve been doing. While I do love that genre, sometimes it’s good to slow down a bit.

Anna Vogelzang is part of the singer/songwriter “family” in Chicago. I first heard her at Jeff Brown’s birthday concert and got the full-fledged treatment when I co-hosted her podcast with Chicago Acoustic Underground. That show won’t be out for a couple of weeks, but in the meantime listen to “Family Band”. With her comfortable guitar playing and quirky lyrics it’s the perfect way to relax and put a smile on your face.

Her next Chicago show is at Hotti Biscotti’s (3545 W. Fullerton) open mic on March 26. And it’s free!

- The Local Tourist, NBC5 Street Team - Chicago NBC5 Street Team

1/30/09
From Anna’s press kit: “Anna started writing terrible poetry when she turned 13 and started playing the guitar because she wanted to be like Jewel.” Don’t even try to pretend you can’t identify with that.

Luckily, since then she’s grown up into an intriguing artist (she deliberately backtracked from a highly produced 2007 album to a recent DIY EP recorded in her laundry room), toured as a backup singer for the Dresden Dolls, and performed alongside like-minded indie rocker types including Wye Oak, Nat Baldwin of the Dirty Projectors, Deer Tick, and Kyp Malone of TV On The Radio.

Also featuring NYC singer-songwriter Christine Lyons and award-winning local folk duo The Honey Dewdrops.

-The HooK - The HooK, Charlottesville VA

6/2/2009
Her future's so bright, she sings in shades: Check out Anna Vogelzang at Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar
Doll Parts: A gal like Anna Vogelzang is more patchwork than Cabbage Patch - bits and piecces of dozens of lovely ladies rather than a single, simple doll. Take a song like "Judy Garland", in which Vogelzang invokes the mistress of Oz in vocals more frank than Dame DiFranco, then namechecks Nina Simone and Ginger Rogers. But don't call her sexist; she knows her Neil Young, and plays the occasional Iron & Wine cover like a nice, smoky cabernet." - C-Ville, Charlottesville, VA - C-Ville Weekly

1/28/09
Combine sweet, early-jazz warbling, classic female singer-songwriter acoustics, girl-with-a-guitar aesthetics, and indie-folk quirk (imagine Kimya Dawson if she could really sing) with a dash of slightly angsty girl-rock (Ani DiFranco if she’d mellow out), and you’ll have an inkling of the unique style cultivated by vocalist Anna Vogelzang.

Originally from Massachusetts and educated in music at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, Vogelzang has chosen Chicago as her home – when she’s not on the road, that is. The 23-year-old musician is in the middle of a two-month-long, self-booked tour covering more than 15 different states and on her Web site claims that she’ll keep touring “until her ’98 Nissan falls apart.” She’s playing cafes, clubs, and house parties and, by all accounts, having a grand old time doing it. In the past, she has shared stages with the likes of Franz Nicolay (of The Hold Steady), The Dresden Dolls, and Mirah.

When woman and guitar alone are not enough, Vogelzang brings along her long-time collaborator, fiddler Joe Arnold. The young duo complement each other nicely, Arnold’s fiddle-playing adding a whimsical and simultaneously grounded air to Vogelzang’s solid guitar.

In addition to her two full-length albums, Vogelzang will be selling a special 6-song EP recorded especially for the tour.

- Sarah Shay - Brick Weekly, Richmond, VA

6/29/2010
The Wisconsin troubadour has a penchant for playfulness when it comes to her music; however, when she gets serious, few craft a better folk song. Early on a Saturday morning, we met Anna at Carterco Studios in Chicago and asked her to play some of her more solemn cuts. Vogelzang obliged, and with banjo in hand, proceeded to swell the studio with sweet folksy nostalgia as we sat rapt on a bare floor.

- Ben Evans - The Huffington Post

10/13/10
Now, Madison? That was a tricker decision made easier with the discovery of the sweetly feisty songwriter by the name Anna Vogelzang at none other than a symposium blending the aforementioned food and music. So feisty in fact she absconded the stage before admonishing the-up till that point-talkative crowd into silence. Immediately it drew forth comparisons to Ani DiFranco’s ability to tug your attention and inattention seemingly effortlessly. Now it may seem I’m tall-taling, but she was swearing at those who didn’t heed her warning.

About a month later, she unveiled her latest EP. The memories were fresh in mind of that photo-luminescent set, and are now ingrained digitally and physically through Secret Cedar Room. The four songs commence with “Die Trying”, a violin and banjo manifesto crescendoing into a bridge; “What if this is not my best? Well I’m gonna die trying!” (See below, from Wanderer Sessions) The recorded version embodies that honed vocal and musical talent Anna has been fostering for years and let loose under the now colored foliage in Janesville. It is clearly evident her talent comes from that voice; strong, confident yet fearlessly exposing anxieties through lyrics as aforementioned. But hey, you can tell it won’t keep her down immediately upon “Sign”, a cover that is phenomenal live after she wrangles up passive crowds. The recorded version loses a little bit of energy, but it just gives the listener all the more reason to attend her show.

“Heart Beats Faster” quickly becomes a steadfast favorite, showcasing her wit coupled with delivery. “Could you make me something metal? Could you build it so I’m strong? But please be sure that it is functional, for when this all starts going wrong.” Anna Vogelzang draws you in with tales folk music is characterized by; that memorable essential element. Paired with her singing, she sneaks forth, coaxes the listener along before she diverts whichever way she desires fully knowing she has your attention. This track also is the sole acoustic guitar piece, which is usually half her set. Organic, natural, it bespeaks not only Madison, but a piece of the Midwestern soul. The essence far from urban, rooted in those communal moments shared amidst new and old friends underneath skies spared from city glow. To be young, hopeful yet down-to-earth is what Secret Cedar Room closely represents.

- John Brunner - Mezzic

November 2010
Anna Vogelzang is a cliché, and she knows it. Her gorgeously emotive folk songs are inspired by her Kerouac-esque lifestyle on the road as well as love lost and found. But just five seconds of hearing her full-bodied, emphatic alto lilting over Americana string arrangements will have you captivated. She’s not trying to be Kimya Dawson or Dar Williams. She’s just Anna.

Since graduating from Carnegie Mellon University in 2007, the Massachusetts native has been building a steady following in the Midwest music scene. After spending a year and a half in Chicago, she relocated to Madison in 2008 and signed with local record label, Slothtrop Music.

Taking a rare time-out from her month-long tour of the Northeast ? during which she is performing every night while also recording songs for her newest album ? Anna discusses her travels, her music and, of course, her feelings.

- Liza Burkin - Curb Magazine

11/19/08
Anna Vogelzang makes me want to be in a coffee house on a late night eating pita with friends and smiling, while I secretly want to have a cup with this presence of a performer that is playing. Her sound is acoustic with a little jazz and a little singer songwriter folk. She could be described as a-cappella with a backing band. The acoustic guitar is subtle enough along with the variety of backing instruments to spotlight her beautiful voice. On first listen you won't even care what she is singing about because her voice will blanket you with awe. You can check her out at last.fm & her myspace. I recommend these tracks, "Pittsburg" & "Family Band". You can buy her wonderful wares here. Do whatever you can to see her live.

- Chris Szostek
- The Deli Magazine

1/22/09
Back in the 'Burgh
Pittsburgh's indie-folk scene said goodbye to one of its brightest singer-songwriters when Anna Vogelzang graduated from Carnegie Mellon in 2007 and took off for Chicago.

While at CMU she had recorded the album "The Things That Airplanes Do" at the university's studios as part of her senior thesis and had it mastered at Capitol Records in Los Angeles. It featured more than 20 players, including a string quintet and church choir, backing Vogelzang, who has a powerful voice and bold style a la Ani DiFranco.

Along with her solo career, she performed as a vocalist with The Dresden Dolls all around the country, playing Lollapalooza in 2006.

She will be joined by her former band Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Carnegie Mellon's Underground (in the building on the corner of Morewood and Forbes avenues) in a show that will also feature Christine Lyons (another CMU alumna now in NYC), Emily Rodgers and Lohio. Admission is free. For more on Vogelzang, go to sonicbids.com/theanna. - Scott Mervis

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09022/943488-388.stm
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

1/27/09
When singer songwriter Anna Vogelzang graduated from CMU two years ago, she took with her a senior project in the form of a full-length album entitled The Things That Airplanes Do. The record features loads of CMU musicians contributing to the artful arrangements, and even includes a fantasia entitled "Pittsburgh": "I found you this steel city cake/ it's all ours for the taking/ Make our mill fortune, build a home/ It's much too easy, much too grown." Vogelzang, now based in Chicago, has since launched four tours, mainly solo: tonight, she reunites her Pittsburgh-based backing band, with Percussion, bass, dobro and fiddle. Also on the bill are fellow CMU grad Christine Lyons, and the local sensations L'ohio and Emily Rodgers. - Aaron Jentzen - Pittsburgh City Paper