Artist Close-Up: Hey Anna Are Mystically Relatable In Concert

Can a band sound like happiness? Hey Anna definitely showed that bright is not only a “term’ for looks but also sound. This band is folk rock/ indie-pop goodness with songs, from their album Run Koko, that sound like drapes of moonlight in a starry night. They make you want to have a plain, good time with your friends, which is why their concert/ music is so refreshing. 

A plain, good time may sound lame or “whatever” to some, but, to me, there is an effortless sweetness to “plain, good times”. Hey Anna are the perfect concert to turn just grabbing a drink with your old buddies into a magnificent chapter in your life. The band carries a zest that is exciting and smooth in how it is absorbed by audiences. Their presence on stage, though  energetic, is not overpowering, but instead welcoming. The difference is that their live performance is casually great like, a nice, fall breeze gently caressing you, and their music approaches you, the listener, through its gentility rather than its force. Lead Singer Erin Rauch-Sasseen is the ripe blend of firm front-woman and free songstress. She has an inner stillness that centers her in both stage and audience reception. Though she moves very littler throughout the concert, beyond to play her guitar, her stillness elaborates how moving her songs are in words and theme. Moreover, they give the vocal opportunity to build a soft, descriptive platform on not just the emotions of Hey Anna’s songs, but also their themes of journeying through life either through one’s physicality, “Move Your Body”, or spiritually/mentally, “Anaphaze”. 
Hey Anna has a wonderfully distinct capacity to take make the “odyssey” of folk music feel both vastly mystical and subtly relatable. In songs like, “White Fang” or “Mt.Picchu” twilighted keys and Erin’s soft, sombre voice wist through electric guitars and pouncing drums. Thus, a musical dichotomy is built. On one hand, you feel like you are in a lounge, like Music Hall Of Williamsburg,  being soothed by the sounds before you, while also being whisked away into a “sky-like” view of life on earth.  The ability to make life feel celestial in its earthiness is, in part, because of Erin’s meekly radiant vocals. Erin’s voice when combined with the synthetic rock rhythms feels like the lulling call of a mother: warm, strong, and observant. Thus, what more than a “maternal”, youthful energy to make life come off like fireworks beaming above you. From relationship disillusionment, “Little Things”, to the ups and downs of young love, “Tangerine Lightning”, Hey Anna can make even woes of life sound whimsical. Moreover, when Erin harmonizes with her sisters, Anna Rauch-Sasseen and Katie Rauch-Sasseen, excitement brews within listeners at hearing hooks and melodies that are like delicate pastries for yours to eat up.  Therefore, although Hey Anna can make you dance and rock out, they also make you want to “chill” into your present moment. Hence, check out their future concerts and find out more about Hey Anna Here. 
Nov 10 Mercy Lounge  Nashville, TN
  Nov 11 Saturn                   Birmingham, AL
  Nov 12 Gasa Gasa          New Orleans, LA
  Nov 15 Parish                  Austin, TX
  Nov 18 Crescent Ballroom  Phoenix, AZ