Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Amy Annelle. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Amy, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

From my earliest memories as a child, I would be carried away by hearing music on the radio or coming through an older sibling’s bedroom door. I was brought to traditional folk concerts as a child in Chicago, and I started listening to experimental free-form college radio at the bottom of the dial as a young teen. I wasn’t encouraged to take music lessons, which would have given me more technical proficiency and confidence. But I would gradually realize that my love for music–the way I felt it speak to me, how it could explore mysterious feelings, how it could immerse me in another world–would translate into making original music myself. I mustered the courage to pick up my brother’s guitar at age 19, and taught myself how to play by ear by listening to my favorote songs. The first song I leard the whole way through was “Space Oddity” by David Bowie. That song has some non-traditional chords, so I was exposed to music theory early on. I wrote my first song soon after, after a heartbreak, and never stopped. I started recording songs and experimenting with sound collage at home with a 4-track cassette recorder. I began experimenting with open guitar tunings early in my songwriting process, which opened up an intuitive relationship with chordal movement and melody. Getting to know my singing voice was a slow, sometimes grueling process of learning how to get out of the way and trust that the music would come out of me the way it was meant to.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a a modern day songwriter, performer, photographer, and recording artist whose work—as a soloist, and with small ensembles—balances curiosity and exploration with a reverence for America’s restless, divergent musical past. I am known for my body of work which spans 11 albums of original songs and reenvisionings of other’s songs. My version of Townes Van Zandt’s “Buckskin Stallion Blues” plays during the emotional resolution of the Academy Award-winning film “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”. This distinction carried my voice to new fans around the world.

I started playing music and writing songs and taking photos in Chicago in the mid-nineties. Since then I’ve recorded, toured and taken up residence all over the United States. Songwriting is a calling for me. I’ve learned the craft through an emotional and geographical journey that brought me from campfires, punk houses and busking in the subway to folk clubs, art galleries and even New York City’s storied Town Hall. My surroundings shape my songwriting, from the harshness of America’s crumbling concrete interiors to the lonesome majesty of the High Plains and Pacific Northwest. I have been described as “captivating”, “mysterious”, “a sympathetic interpreter” and “a genuine American Visionary”. My body of work exists in a dynamic space where folk, avant-garde, country and Americana–the past and the future–find each other in song.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a songwriter is when my music brings the listener on a meaningful journey within themselves. Songwriting is a deeply personal endeavor, but once the songs are recorded or performed, they escape that interior narrative. The songs are free to engage with everyone who hears, and connect them with the symbols of their own memories, emotions and images. The song is an invitation to a journey within. It’s the magic of being a creative, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I had some serious illnesses and hospitalizations as a child. And throughout my adult life, I was living with the pain and unwellness of Endometriosis and other strange symptoms, which became debilitating around 2010. By the time I was diagnosed, the Endometriosis had advanced to Stage IV, affecting major organ systems and depleting my blood. At that time I was also diagnosed with fibromyalgia, and I also received a major mental health diagnosis. It was devastating. I was torn away from my dream of playing music for people, and became, against my will, a resident of the strange and lonesome world of Chronic Illness. Struggling with these illnesses resulted in 5 surgeries and many hospitalizations. I lost my freedom to tour or perform, and I was really suffering to make it from day to day. As anyone who has been disabled by chronic illness knows, life becomes a battle from one doctor or surgery or treatment to the next. I tried every type of self care possible to improve symptoms. It took a long time, but slowly over many years I have received the guidance, both medically and spiritually, which has enabled me to persevere. I manage my symptoms with a combination of integrative medicine and self-care. Presently I am working on my first studio album in over a decade. And we are recording it at my home so I am able to do so while caring for my health.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: @amy_annelle
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amyannellemusic/
• Youtube: @highplainssigh
• Other: My experience as a songwriter living with chronic illness has allowed me to advocate for other people who live with similar challenges. During Covid lockdown I released a single, “Distance Lullaby”, to benefit the SIMS Foundation, which provides mental health and substance abuse support to Austin, Texas area musicians and industry folks. And I have done advocacy work on behalf of the Endometriosis community. While endo symptoms can range from mild to debilitating, many doctors are not trained sufficiently to recognize it, let alone treat it or manage symptoms with the best interventions. Endo symptoms are often unintentionally played down or dismissed by family and friends, which adds an emotional toll to the physical suffering. By joining the grassroots Endo advocacy community, I learned that I wasn’t alone. I’ve helped spread the word, whether through national press or simply educating friends and providers about the hope of progressive treatments, such as skilled excision surgery and self-care. There is still a lot of misunderstanding about the disease, which affects roughly 1 in 10 menstruating people. But the support networks and resources are out there–especially Nancy’s Nook Endometriosis Education and The Endometriosis Foundation–and are growing stronger every day.

Image Credits
Amy Annelle, Matt LaComte, Irwin Chusid, Ralph White, Sally O’ Grady, D. Walker.