Annie and The Beekeepers
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Annie and The Beekeepers

New York City, New York, United States | SELF

New York City, New York, United States | SELF
Band Americana Folk

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This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

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Press


"Paste Magazine"

Annie Lynch shows off her remarkable vocal prowess on a debut album featuring lyrics that dance gently over subtle violins and sweet guitar picking. Together with her folk- and country-influenced bandmates from Berklee College of Music, Lynch and the Beekeepers create symphonic, slow- burning tunes that strike a lovely balance between heavy emotion and light, sparse sound, from the mournful opener “Charlotte’s Web” to the standout track “Silhouette.” Whether rocking a Wild Wild West- tinged bassline on “Dirty Laundry” or an airy mandolin on the folksy - Paste Magazine


"WERS review"

March 26, 2008

It was an organic connection for the Beekeepers. After only about six months of playing together, the band recorded their eponymous debut album. “It just seemed natural,” said Lynch, and the others nodded. “Ken composed some instrumental stuff for the album, and Matt and I wrote some together”, Lynch continued. “Mostly, I composed the songs, but we’re looking to write together a lot more.” The band members, Annie Lynch (Guitar, Vocals), Mat "Twain" Davidson (Mandolin, Accordion, Banjo, Saw, Vocals, etc.), Alexandra Spalding (Cello and Vocals), and Ken Woodward (Bass), met at Berklee College of Music in Boston and although half of the band is graduating soon, they’re already planning their second album after only a year together .
Their music is undeniably folksy, with unique harmony from three voices of the band and haunting arrangements for upright bass, cello, mandolin, banjo, accordion, and a saw solo in ‘Charlotte’s Web.’ The lyric strength of the music recalls Dylan, while the band places their influences mostly with Andrew Bird, David Rawlings, Tom Waits, and Gillian Welch. “Love Gillian Welch!” said Lynch, looking a little embarrassed over her sudden excitement.
The band name was born from the band's unanimous concern for the plight of the bumblebee that made headline news last summer. They still support the effort to protect the bee population, which is a surprisingly vital element of human life as they stressed on air this Wednesday.
Consider the humility of this band. A group of music students with their take-off debut released less that a year after their first coming together. Their music surpasses that of just ‘folk’ or just ‘alternative’ or ‘acoustic’; it is a new category that not only stills the studio and thoughts of anything but their musical beauty, but confirms the saw as a legitimate musical instrument.

- WERS


"Boston Globe Review"

Annie Lynch and the Beekeepers owes much of its sound to the lilting country and bluegrass melodies of its forebears, but its musical palette is diverse enough to include a touch of New Orleans Dixie clarinet and some gorgeously resonant cello playing. Lynch's understated vocals and songwriting are reminiscent of Jolie Holland or the Be Good Tanyas, and the band seems capable of providing any backdrop she may need. - Boston Globe


"Boston's Best Kept Secret? Annie Lynch & the Beekeepers"



A self-titled album release from Boston's Annie Lynch and the Beekeepers could prove to be one of the best national releases this year. The band is producing some old-time Americana music with the cello, the accordian, the bass, the mandolin, guitar and even a bow and saw. I hosted the band during a November 27th show (Ryan's Smashing Life presents) in Cambridge. While I had heard their music online - nothing could prepare me for the life-giving, smile-bringing performance that would unfold.... And it wasn't just the instrumentation! The players: Lynch, Mat Davidson, Alex Spalding, and Ken Woodward have a great collective charisma - they work very well together and all this is reflected on the brand new record.

JUST EXCEPTIONAL LIVE!

And then there is the angelic voice of Annie Lynch. She lifts up the listener and spirits you away to another place - another time... How far away? That depends on the set length! I compare Lynch's singing voice favorably to that of Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley, Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins) or perhaps a cross between the talented Lewis and beautiful singer Dawn Landes.

Comparisons may be made, but the music and voice must be heard to be truly appreciated. Annie Lynch and the Beekeepers are Boston's Best Kept Secret! (I just don't think this will be the case for long.) - Ryan - Ryan's Smashing Life


"Performer Mag Review"

A young and earnest quartet, Annie Lynch and the Beekeepers formed at the Berklee College of Music. Combining classical instruments like the cello (Alexandra Spalding) and bass (Ken Woodward) with the folk sounds of a guitar (Annie Lynch) and banjo (Mat Davidson), they meld their disparate musical backgrounds into a sound that is somewhere between acoustic alternative and folk, with splashes of bluegrass.

Their eponymous album weaves enchanted melodies around Lynch’s simple, fluid voice and the unique instrumentation occasionally includes a clarinet, mandolin or accordion. The songs emanate a charming, melancholy familiarity while exploring the fluid area between genres, taking as much from Gillian Welch and David Rawlings as from indie pop.

A haunting strain from an accordion opens the album. Lynch experiments with lyrics; “Charlotte’s Web” tells the famous story from Fern’s perspective and “Dirty Laundry” adopts a washing metaphor for a failed relationship. Davidson plays some beautiful mandolin in “Next To Me” continuing into the next song, “Sad Boy,” giving the ballads a bluegrass feel. Spalding’s cello and Woodward’s bass give a depth and soul to the music, elevating it above simple acoustic music.

The sixth track breaks up the album, with a short clip of instrument tuning. The others join Lynch on the vocals for “Someone Else,” a slow, simple number reminiscent of Damien Rice’s work with the cello entering in the last fourth of the song. “The Orange Grove,” a short musical interlude, begins with a whistling sound that sounds vaguely like a whale call, until the other instruments join in for a very Andrew Bird inspired tune.

“The Bee Song” features a beautiful bit of clarinet, and some quaint lyrics about an insane Admiral and some buzzing bees. The album ends with “Happy Ending” which is actually soft and melancholy. Though their debut is very short, Annie Lynch and the Beekeepers’ innovative sound and obvious musical talent make this group one to watch in the future. (Self-released) - Performer Mag


"Boston Folk Radio Review"

How many bands have you seen in the last year that masterfully blend cello, accordion, mandolin, guitar, bass- even a bow and saw into an old-time Americana sound that took you to another world and back? If, in the last year you saw Annie Lynch and The Beekeepers, your answer would be: at least one. This quartet of Bostonians are fast becoming a hot topic in the local folk scene, in no small part to their immense charisma in front of an audience, but owing even more to the talent employed in making such an eclectic palette sound so familiar. - WUMB


Discography

"Annie Lynch and the Beekeepers" LP, Released: 2007

"Squid Hell Sessions" EP, Released: 2009

Radio Airplay:
From "Annie Lynch & the Beekeepers":
"Dirty Laundry"- WUMB, WERS, NHPR
"Charlotte's Web"- WUMB
"Silhouette" -WUMB
"Next To Me" -WUMB, WTJU

From "Squid Hell Sessions"
"Pirate's Life" - WFUV
"Like a Dog" - Exclusive Premiere on The Tripwire

Photos

Bio

Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start.

"I am going to eat this cake until I'm as big as the world!" a three-year-old Annie would triumphantly declare on her Birthday just before burying her face into an entire meticulously decorated chocolate Mickey Mouse Cake. The same child would be apt to sit quietly alone for hours coloring and listening to "The Big Chill Soundtrack" or "Graceland" on her yellow "Sports" Sony Walkman in her bedroom above the family-owned restaurant she grew up in on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Here in lies the foundation of Annie Lynch, as a person and as an artist, simultaneously full of uninhibited zeal while content to be indefinitely submerged in quiet simplicity. There is no telling what combination of the two will exist in any given moment.

Annie Lynch began her love of live music while eavesdropping on the Cape Cod Little Fiddlers' painstakingly squeaky rehearsal in the gym of her elementary school en route to after school pickup. This was music to her ears. The sound of their little uneven bows on the cheap instruments might as well have been that of a world-class orchestra. She begged her parents for a violin, a wish they were pleased to grant, and squeaked her way through five years of Suzuki lessons until she discovered the music of Joni Mitchell and began to sing. Guitar followed singing, writing followed guitar, and by the time Annie was fourteen, creating and performing songs had [almost] completely trumped her insatiable passion for delicious chocolate cake. Her love of bowed instruments would continue though, thankfully, her violin has not since been publicly unearthed.

After several years of playing locally in coffeehouses on Cape Cod, Annie attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she met cellist, Alexandra Spalding, double bassist, Ken Woodward, and multi instrumentalist, Mat Davidson. The quartet gathered in the effort of recording a demo of Annie's songs, and continued on to release their self-titled debut, Annie Lynch and The Beekeepers in 2007 with Grammy-nominated producer-engineer, Jack Gauthier. The album was given rave reviews from the likes of The Boston Globe and Paste Magazine, and receives frequent airplay on Boston's WUMB and WERS, and NY's WFUZ amongst others. The city's Americana music scene warmly embraced Annie and The Beekeepers, and it took little time for the foursome to gather northeastern notoriety. In 2009, the group released their EP, Squid Hell Sessions, named after the studio in the Jamaica Plane neighborhood of Boston where Berklee peers, Adrian Olsen and Kyle VandeKerkhoff, recorded the bulk of the EP. Amidst the release of Squid Hell Sessions, the band relocated to Brooklyn and soon became a trio, unleashing Mat's ever-talented ferocity onto the world at large. Annie, Ken, and Alex went on to tour nationally, sharing stages with such admirable musicians as Josh Ritter, Justin Townes Earle, Nathaniel Rateliff, Dr Dog's Scott McMicken, and The Low Anthem. They have performed at notable festivals such as SXSW, Philadelphia Folk Festival, Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion, and Boston Folk Festival. In September of 2010, the trio embarked on their first UK tour, highlighted by a slot at End of the Road music festival in Dorset.

Upon successful completion of this tour, Ken and Alex left Brooklyn, where Annie remains and continues to compose and perform in preparation for the next Annie and The Beekeepers release with the newly formed outfit consisting of Andrew Michael Buri (Multi-instrumentalist/Vocalist) and Jeni Magana (Bassist/Vocalist). This album is predicted to be completed in early 2012.

Annie Lynch still loves The Big Chill Soundtrack.