The Spirit of Folk? Me?

The Spirit of Folk? Me?

by | Feb 25, 2025 | Cappsule

Last weekend (although it feels like a month ago already) the Folk Alliance International honored me with one of 4 “Spirit of Folk” awards.

Rod and I drove to Montreal for the conference so I could accept this award in person. They only gave me 60 seconds for remarks. Not complaining. That’s a good thing. I STILL don’t have the words to express how honored and grateful I am. The surreal feeling of walking up on a stage to accept an award after someone* has just told a hotel ballroom full of “folkies” (many heroes of mine) – most of whom have never heard my name – why I deserve a Spirit of Folk award, was … well… it’s kinda how I would imagine attending my own funeral would feel. Most people don’t get to hear that kind of praise in such a big way during their lifetime. Gobsmacked.

*Oh and um… that “someone” was Fiona Whelan Prine. Gobsmacked x10.

Honestly, I don’t know what to do with all of it. Of course I don’t feel worthy. Of course my mind flips to the thousands of volunteers and hard working folks behind the scenes who rarely get more than a pat on the back. 

I don’t mean to dismiss this award at all. Nor discount the judgment of those who felt me worthy of it. Just the opposite. I want nothing more than to deserve it. The truth is, I feel like I have a LOT of work left to do and I will do my best to eventually live up to all the kind words. 

Life in Michigan

Life in Michigan

by | Dec 17, 2024 | Cappsule

“The North Star Lounge in Ann Arbor was the scene of an invigorating evening of daredevil Americana music thanks to the exceptionally talented Annie and Rod Capps Quartet.” – Chuck Marshall, Life in Michigan

Kinda gobsmacked by this awesome review of our North Star Lounge show. We jumped off the proverbial songwriting diving board into the deep end with a bunch of songs we barely knew but wanted to “road test”. By all reports, they stood up to our loyal friends and fans’ standards. Far from perfectly delivered, but there was no denying the passion and well-seasoned professionalism. I love the metaphors Chuck Marshall of Life in Michigan used in his review.

https://lifeinmichigan.com/annie-and-rod-capps-quartet-at-the-north-star-lounge/ 

Holiday Season

Holiday Season

by | Dec 3, 2024 | Annie's Musings, Cappsule

 

The holiday season comes with a lot of conflicting emotions for me. The older I get, the less I enjoy large boisterous gatherings (unless I’m on stage!!) and the more I crave quiet peaceful days at home with no obligations looming over me so I can lounge around in my comfy clothes, read a book or watch a mindless t.v. show. THAT’s what I look forward to. The Down Time. I tend to feel an unusual sense of calm, which is hard to reconcile amidst the insane traffic and louder sales pitches cluttering the TVs, phones, and inboxes. Who knows what the coming year will bring so my plan is to revel in what’s left of 2024 by tuning out the politics and focusing on the people I love. I don’t buy into the commercial Christmas crap and would be happier if the gift-giving part of our traditions were left behind so we could find other ways to show each other how much we love and appreciate them. Not to be all Scroogy but gifts from well-meaning friends and family rarely hit the mark and the enthusiasm of the recipient is usually an act to make the giver feel good. So what’s wrong with that? If it makes your friend or loved one happy to give you a gift and you mean enough to them that they’re willing to spend their hard-earned money on you, it’s your job to accept that gift graciously and if said gift ends up haunting the various surfaces of the house you’re trying desperately to declutter until you finally swallow the guilt and donate it to Good Will hoping it’ll find a home with someone who would actually use or enjoy it, that’s just how it goes. It doesn’t matter that those who truly know you, also know how uncomfortable it feels to be given a gift when you can’t or choose not to reciprocate. 

Dear Abby, Should I tell my friend to stop buying me gifts? Answer: Maybe the best gift you can give them is to LET THEM buy you a gift. If it makes them happy.

I was chatting with my mom the other day about the self-imposed pressure to buy “the right” gift for someone and how much we used to agonize over those decisions. We’ve long since outgrown the exuberant anticipation of Christmas mornings around the tree tearing into packages filled with shiny new objects chosen “by Santa” from a list we labored over. The thing is, I remember getting so much joy out of watching my siblings open presents that I had picked out for them. So, yeah, I get that by saying “no presents this year” we deprive our loved ones of that joy.  As I said, conflicting emotions. I guess the answer is to drop the expectations and just appreciate… all of it.

Big love and happy holidays from us!

It’s Been A Minute

It’s Been A Minute

by | Jun 17, 2024 | Cappsule

Wait. Our last post here was May 2023? We were asking for help to fund our Love & Rain album which has now been out for a whole year! Holy cow. Note to self. I really must get better at this. Coming to you now as we head into a very exciting summer of festivals and outdoor events. Mostly with the Capps band but three of those festivals were after the Badass Women Band! It all started with my solo album “How Can I Say This” which was formed to help bring the album to life for a few CD release events. We had so much fun playing together and there was so much songwriting talent on that stage that it made sense to evolve into something more than just my album. Spurred on by some interest from the Wheatland booking committee, we set to work on building a press kit that would serve to promote this band. My songs were low-hanging fruit for now so we recorded “Dirty Little Secret” and “Two Different Things”. Filmed by the amazing Charlie Steen and recorded by and at La Luna Recording and Sound in Kalamazoo (where I also recorded and mixed my album) with engineers Maggie Heeron and Ian Gorman.

We’re now working up a full set featuring all the songwriters in the band, Annie Bacon, Fay Burns, and Julianna Wilson as well as some very cool covers. Along with these three badasses, the band features incredible musicians, Cori Somers on violin, Sara Gibson on cello, and Carolyn Koebel on drums. Visit https://badasswomenband.com for more info and of course, we’ll post all the shows here on our LIVE page.

Hope you’ve got a fun summer planned. All reports are that it’s gonna be a scorcher. Be safe. Drink lots of water and carry an umbrella for shade. (let’s see if I can take my own advice)

We need your help to make “Love and Rain”

We need your help to make “Love and Rain”

by | May 31, 2023 | Cappsule

Sure! I can Help. =)

We’re super excited about this new batch of songs and can’t wait to share them with you. We started recording in January and will be finishing up very soon. (Read a bit more about the album and listen to a teaser – https://annieandrodcapps.com/recordings/) Although this album is a relatively low-budget endeavor, we can really use your help to get it across the finish line. So we’ve set a modest goal to raise $5,000 (which will help us pay for the balance of mixing, mastering, and manufacturing of the CDs) and we hope to raise that in two weeks! Ambitious? Yes. But not impossible.

If 200 of you buy the album in the next two weeks, we hit that goal. If a few of you are able and feel compelled to donate a little more, we have those options as well. 

We created some other premiums below but if there’s something you want that isn’t listed, just reach out and we’ll do our best to make it happen. (NOTE, these options are subject to change but once you make a purchase we promise to deliver)

Options include:

  • $15 Download Only
  • $25 Disc and Download
  • $50 Disc, Download, and Donation (an extra $25 just because)
  • $75 Disc, Download, and Donation (an extra $50 and we’ll throw in 3 CAPPS albums of your choosing)
  • $100 Disc, Download, and Donation (an extra $75 and we’ll throw in 5 items from the Capps shop (choose from recordings, t-shirts*, and posters)
  • $150 Double down (2 of everything we have for sharing plus an extra $50 just because)
  • $250 Double down PLUS a one-on-one songwriting session with Annie (or something else we can offer of equal value)
  • $500 Double down PLUS a House Show* (or something else we can offer of equal value)
  • $1000 Executive Producer (All of the above, PLUS your name “in lights” in our album liner notes with Executive Producer credit)

Teaser

Count me in!