We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cassidy Barden a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Cassidy , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
As a whole, Annie Dukes in the beginning was a huge risk. Both Cassidy and Emma were at points in their lives where they had pursued music for so long, they were thinking about stepping away for good. After a mutual friends passing, the two women came together and found their passion for music again. Being both vocalists who occasionally played guitar, they picked up the electric guitar and bass and dove into learning the instruments to form Annie Dukes sound. The songwriting happened immediately which was a huge help to forward their progress of really honing in on the direction of the band. Adding Mike Monahan and Callie Johns into the mix, the band solidified themselves by releasing their latest EP and touring heavily last year and into 2023. It was absolutely a risk worth taking.
Cassidy , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Rock n roll cannot be faked. It is polished with the unwillingness to travel any other road. That electricity brought these women together as one, creating the band Annie Dukes.
Annie Dukes is a female fronted rock band out of Northeast Florida. Their sound is a mixture of 70’s rock with 90’s grunge tones, saturated with three part harmonies. “Black Sabbath meets Fleetwood Mac”.
They have toured all over the southeast in their short time as a band, landing them direct support slots with artists like Maggie Rose, Nita Strauss, Plain White T’s, Thelma and the Sleaze, Tyler Bryant, Blacktop Mojo. In October 2022, the band played the JMA’s at the Grand Ole Opry House.
The first single, “Did I say Yes??” off the band’s latest release, which is a women empowering anthem. The song starts with a thumping bass leading to melodic guitar solos, a driving rhythm and strong vocals. The music video, released 2/24 made an impact with its powerful imagery of local women who participated in the video, standing against sexual abuse and violence.
On March 3rd, Annie Dukes released their first, self-titled EP. The songs are heavy hitting, anthem-like songs and define the band’s true sound, solidifying their role in the rock ‘n roll scene.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is to be able to create songs that reach audiences all over. Our latest single, “Did I Say Yes??” was an opportunity to bring women together to stand for women’s rights while filming the music video.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
During summer tour of last year, we had a lineup change that forced us to become a trio as a band. We finished the tour stronger and came home to write new music. The change was hard but ultimately made us a better band. 
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theanniedukes.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theanniedukes/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theanniedukes
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theanniedukes
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6Bxq83SK7yMbSVR1Rtl3dd?si=UjE4jem4RSa8vO-Jpiy7_w&nd=1
Image Credits
Dylan Handley