On Sunday night, an intimate, low key crowd gathered at Washington DC’s DC9 to see New York rocker Anna Rose, with support from local singer songwriter Annie Stokes.
Anna Rose Menken, who goes professionally by Anna Rose, has music in her DNA. Her father, renowned composer Alan Menken, is perhaps best known for his scores for Disney films (such as The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast). In contrast, however, Anna Rose’s style is much more rock and roll. Her sound has been described as an amalgam of blues, rock, and grunge and she cites such female greats as Stevie Nicks and Janis Joplin as influences.
Her latest album, The Light Between, is described as more of a singer-songwriter’s foray into Americana, having been recorded in (and likely influenced by) Nashville. To a fan of rock music, she has a welcome sound: backed by a four-piece band, she possesses a beautiful voice, but the songs are not pretty. Gritty and guitar laden, they tell stories of those who are lost and restless. Underscoring her influences, in concert her performance of “Bury Me Deep” leads to a gorgeous rendition of “Rhiannon.” Warm and enjoyable, Anna Rose’s music goes down like sips of fine bourbon. In short, she’s terrific.
Complementing Anna Rose as support Sunday night was Virginia Americana songstress Annie Stokes. Performing for the first time after the birth of a child, and alone with a guitar, her beautiful songs draw on her own experiences as a young adult—whether it’s anxiety induced by a carnival ride (“Scrambler”) or drinking whiskey and falling in love in the Shenandoah Valley. She’s been described as “Flannery O’ Connor meets Emmylou Harris” and, as her website puts it, her lyrics recall moments you thought you forgot. Her latest album is Livin’ Right; she plays dates around Virginia and Maryland through the end of the year.
Anna Rose hits a few more dates around the southeast this month, wrapping up in Georgia on November 23. Any lover of rock music should drop in for a listen.
ANNIE STOKES
ANNA ROSE SET LIST
Anonymous
Broken is Beautiful
Nobody Knows I’m Here
How to Leave
Sinking Ship
Sucker Puncher
Bury Me Deep/Rhiannon
The Chariot
Los Angeles
ANNIE STOKES SET LIST
Southern Girl
One in a Million
Wrecker
Real Good
A Case of You
Shenandoah
Livin’ Right
Scrambler
