Annie & the Hedonists features:
Annie Rosen on lead vocals; "The beauty of her voice only reflects the beauty of her soul" - Jonny
Jonny Rosen on guitar and vocals;
Steve Fry on mandolin, trumpet, guitar, keyboard, and vocals;
Betsy Fry on bass and vocals.
Occasional guest musicians include Dave Kiphuth on banjo, Kevin Maul on dobro, Frank Orsini on fiddle, and Peter Davis on clarinet and saxaphone.
Influences
Billie Holiday, Tim O'Brien, Laurie Lewis, Big Mama Thorton, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Louis Armstrong, Bill Monroe, Bob Dylan!...and many many more.
Sounds Like
The dictionary defines hedonism as "Pursuit of or devotion to pleasure, especially to the pleasures of the senses." A couple of years ago Judy and I attended the GottaGetGon, the Pick'n' and Sing'n' Gather'n's uniquely named festival, where we met Annie Rosen's voice and we have no doubt that they chose the right name for the group.
We never got to meet Annie, she was too busy singing. We went to sleep to her voice, woke to her voice, ate lunch to her voice. All during the festival there was a clump of musicians under the shelter who just kept on playing. The cast of characters changed as the day ran into the night, but I can't really remember a time her powerful and expressive voice didn't provide a wonderful backdrop to this fine little festival. If you were at Turtle Hill a while back you got to hear for yourself, Annie and the Hedonists blew the place away with their energy and tight harmonies, covering an eclectic mix of acoustic folk, torchy blues, standards, bluegrass, gospel, labor ballads, early jazz. Just give a listen to the samples below if you don't believe me!
- Ralph Hunt, Heartland Music , Rochester, New York 2005
Mama, Papa, Steve and Betsy,
You all already know I love you guys and how great I think you are.
Thanks for the CDs for Xmas! I've been after Sam since the first one came out to get me a copy, and I haven't stopped listening since I saw you the other night.
Thanks for the add- I discovered you guys at this year's Old Songs Festival, and was quite impressed! Happy New Year- look forward to seeing you play again at some point!
