Anna Coogan's bittersweet Americana has enchanted listeners since she began writing her own songs in early 2002. A trained opera singer and field biologist, Anna translates her love for desolate landscapes, dark alleyways, and neon valleys into simple, sweet melodies.
Link to Anna's EPK:
http://www.sonicbids.com/AnnaCoogan
In a Seattle winter, the light struggles through the subterranean gloom. The mist never fully lifts, your feet are never quite dry, and the sun can go months without shining. The Nocturnal Among Us, the new release by songwriter Anna Coogan, was written over the course of two of these winters, in the dark of early morning and during her long, insomniac nights. The songs struggle with the bewildering changes inherent in the late twenties—getting married, growing up, moving on.
In stark contrast to the depths of winter, The Nocturnal was tracked during the hottest week of the summer, at the Great North Sound Society, the Maine farmhouse studio owned by Sam Kassirer (Josh Ritter, Langhorne Slim). Coogan assembled a team of talented musicians from around the country, including drummer and longtime collaborator Eric Hastings, Phili-based engineer Geoff Hastings, Austin Nevins (Josh Ritter), and keyboard player Brooks Miner. She brought producer JD Foster (Calexico, Laura Cantrell) onboard to help shape 15 songs into a cohesive record. Recorded in the 8 days between her first European tour and her wedding, The Nocturnal Among Us is an achingly beautiful snapshot of life at the brink of adulthood.
After a few years of hibernation following the 2007 break up of her band, north19, 2009 was a breakthrough year for Coogan. She joined Nashville band Lambchop for the Northwest leg of their tour, traveled to Switzerland to open for Reamonn at the prestigious “Blue Balls” festival, and joined the likes of Fred Eaglesmith and the Everybodyfields at the Tractor Tavern in Seattle. She has preformed live in-studio on Seattle station KEXP, been featured on an ABC television series, worked with Grammy winner S. Husky Huskolds, and at played at festivals around the country. As a solo artists, she has been joined by some of the best session players in the country, including Jeremy Chatsky (Bruce Springsteen, Laura Cantrell), Jd Foster (Patty Griffin), Austin Nevins (Josh Ritter), and Joe Doria (Skerik).
2010 will bring extensive touring in support of “The Nocturnal Among Us”.
At the age of 19, Anna Coogan found herself in Salzburg, Austria, studying opera in a language she did not yet know. She explains: “I’m not exactly sure how I got there- a series of good auditions and better luck. I did not speak a word of German when I first got there-- it was a crash course.”
Somewhat bewildered by the pressures of being in the prestigious world of opera, Anna shocked the old guard at the Mozarteum by singing American show tunes for recitals, and missing class to go skiing in the Austrian Alps. “I love opera, but I never could relate to the music. It did not feel like mine. I’d show up burnt from the mountains, unable to sing very well, and be in a load of trouble with my teachers.”
Homesick and lovesick for the man she would later marry, Anna returned to the US in 2001, swearing off music for good. She re-enrolled at the University of Washington in Seattle and began to a degree in Evolutionary Biology. It was in late 2001, sometime after the events of September 11, that Anna first heard Alison Krauss sing. “I had never heard any sort of country music until that point. I grew up on the Beatles, on opera and old 1960’s folk music. Hearing old-time music changed the course of my life, yet again. I was hooked.”
Finally finding music that she could relate to, Anna picked up her old guitar and started hammering out old-time, two chord songs. She wrote her first song, played her first gig, and formed the band “Anna Coogan and north19” in a matter of months.
After only a year together, Anna Coogan and north19 released their first full length record, Glory, on local country-noir label Tarnished Records. The positive reception surprised the young band, who went from playing open stages and coffeeshops to selling out the larger clubs in the region. Glory rose to the top of local station KEXP’s charts, and the band was featured live in-studio on the show “Swinging Doors”. The record sold well across the US and Europe, rose to number 13 on the FAR charts, and was featured on national and local TV.
After the 2007 release of sophomore album Sleepwalker, which was mixed by Grammy winner S. Husky Huskolds (Norah Jones, Tom Waits) and featured on ABC series “Kyle XY”, Anna Coogan and north19 quietly retired. Anna once again found herself rootless in the music world: “After all we put into north19, it was sad to see it go.” She says, “But it was time.”
Since the late 2007 split of the band, Anna has taken to the road as a solo artist, this time backed by fiance Brooks Miner on keyboards and musicians on both coasts. Armed with a load of new songs, Anna and Brooks are heading into the studio in July 2009, with the help of producer JD Foster (Patty Griffin, Calexico), engineer Geoff Hazelrigg, and longtime drummer Eric Hastings. The summer of 2009 will be a busy one for the couple, with a European tour (featuring a slot at the prestigious Blue Balls Festival in Switzerland), making a record, and finally, their long-awaited wedding.
NORTHEAST:
WERU FM E ORLAND, ME **
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WHUS FM STORRS, CT **
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SOUTH:
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UPPER MIDWEST:
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FAR WEST
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NORTHWEST:
KBOO FM PORTLAND, OR **
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And...
CO Grand Junction KAFM
IL Monmouth WMCR-2
wa Bellevue KBCS
ak Anchorage KRUA
NY Purchase WMVL
NJ Glassboro WGLS
MA Boston WECB
mi Alma WQAC
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NJ Lawrenceville WRRC
NY Jamaica WSJU
PA Shippensburg WSYC
ID Boise KBSU
AZ Flagstaff KJACK
CA Lemoore KGAR
MA Waltham WBRS
PA Carlisle WDCV
NJ Wayne WPSC
ME Machias WUMM
CA Orange KNAB
CO Denver KRCX
IA Mt Vernon KRNL
LA Shreveport KSCL
KS Manhattan KSDB
MO St.Louis KWUR
CA Sacramento KSSU
IN Bloomington WIUX
VA Richmond WVCW
CA Norwalk WPMD
MD Baltimore WLOY
OH New Albany OHIO.FM
TN Johnson City wets
OH Columbus WXCU
ND Fargo KNDS
Ont Thunder Bay CILU
MA Boston WTBU
IN Notre Dame WVFI
PA Scranton WVMW
CT Fairfield WVOF
pa Collegeville WVOU
PA Pittsburgh WPPJ
PA Slippery Rock WSRU
VA Fairfax WGMU
NY Clinton WHCL
PA Millersville WIXQ
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VA Lexington WLUR
OH Oxford WMSR
ny Oneonta WONY
OH Athens WOUB
ny Morrisville WCVM
ny Ithaca VIC Radio
IL Godfrey WLCA
PA Reading WXAC
PA Schnecksville WXLV
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il Rock Island WAUG
CA Stanford KZSU
PQ Montreal CJLO
MI Kalamazoo WIDR
NY Auburn WDWN
mi Marquette WUPX
ct New Haven WSIN
pq Westmount CIXS
AZ Tucson KAMP
OR Portland KDUP
MT Bozeman KGLT
LA Ruston KLPI
MN Mankato KMSU - MN
NY Staten Island WSIA
WA Bellingham KUGS
MI Canton WSDP
IL Chicago WXAV
va Harrisonburg WXJM
OR Gresham KMHD2
NY Syosset WKWZ
Il Glenview WGBK
IL Chicago WIIT
WI Milwaukee WMUR
IL Lake Forest WMXM
VA Norfolk WODU
wi Milwaukee WMSE
NF St John’s CHMR
NJ Pomona WLFR
IL LaGrange WLTL
ny St. Bonaventure WSBU
IL River Grove WRRG
IN Valaparaiso WVUR
KY Bowling Green WWHR
CT West Hartford WWUH
DC Washington WVAU
ME Brunswick WBOR
VA Farmville WMLU
GA Savannah Scad Radio / WRFS
tx Richardson Radio UTD
PA Grove City WSAJ
ONT Mississauga CFRE
NC Winston-Salem WAKE
WA Spokane KWRS
MD Towson XTSR
ME Bangor WH
Lonesome Cowboy Lullaby EP- 2003. My first release.
Glory- LP-2005. Released on Tarnished Records.
Sleepwalker- LP- 2007. Self released with Anna Coogan and north19
Live at Seattle Folklife- "State of Grace" - Anna Coogan and north19 live at Seattle Folklife
The Nocturnal Among Us-LP- to be released March 2010. Produced by JD Foster.
Other projects:
A Second Grace: Misery. Backing Vocals. (2009)
AJ Roach: Revelation. Backing Vocals. (2007)
Our Lady of the Highway: Backing Vocals. (2005)