Annie Keating - Make Believing (2015)

Lucinda Williams. John Prine. Allison Krauss. Willie Nelson. Gillian Welch. Bonnie Raitt. Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin. This is a short list of the musicians Annie Keating has been compared to over the last 10 years. With her sixth independent release, 'Make Believing', Keating proves herself even more worthy of that list, releasing her strongest album to date. The songs on this record are tender, raucous and raw, all of them shot through with intelligence and feeling. Keating, who picked up a guitar at age 12 and taught herself a few chords and never stopped playing, writes and sings like a woman who knows deep down that heartache is the price of hope, and she can make us believe - in that way that only the best artists can - that all of it is worth the cost. Talent spotted by BBC Radio 2's Bob Harris, Keating appeared live on the Bob Harris show in 2008 and has gone on to perform at leading national and international festivals including Take Root (Netherlands), the Glasgow Americana Festival (Scotland), the NJ Folk Festival, NXNE in Canada, NEMO and the Brooklyn Indie Music Fest. Keating has performed on the bill with John Haitt, Dan Bern, Bon Iver, Hot Club of Cowtown, Anne Heaton and Shannon McNally. This new album includes special guests, the Abrams Brothers on fiddle, mandolin and acoustic guitar, Matt Keating on piano/organ in addition to Annie Keating's long time group of stellar bandmates: Trina Hamlin on harp/percussion and vocals, Jason Mercer on bass/banjo, Chris Benelli on drums and Chris Tarrow on guitars and pedal steel.