The many guests of Anna Shoemaker walked in that night as strangers, but we all walked out as family: A first-hand account of an indie legend’s glorious return to New York.
by guest writer Rob Colucci
Stream: “Iced Coffee” – Anna Shoemaker
On a warm night in a long December, a crowd of seeming strangers packed into a dimly-lit gallery on Hester Street.
The gallery, PRIV.Y for those who know it, is a new hot spot for diverse pop-ups and artistic showcases. Tonight, it transformed into an intimate acoustic venue.
The show was a homecoming for New York indie sweetheart Anna Shoemaker, but in many ways it was also a bittersweet adieu to the Pennsylvania songstress who was destined to outgrow the East Coast.
Upon arriving, guests were met with the gallery’s inviting glass facade, welcomingly transparent – much like Noah Berghammer, who has a knack for hosting inclusively exclusive musical showcases. Once inside the buzzing sea of conversation, eyes were drawn to the cute merch adorning the walls, hung like seasonal decorations for the musical holiday. The various shirts, trucker hats and crop tops read, “Go to heaven, listen to Anna shoe maker” – a promise that would end up coming true.

But the cuteness didn’t stop there. This pop-up show also doubled as a celebration of her latest release, “Iced Coffee.” Being the consummate host with small-town charm, Shoemaker made sure to have small cups of iced coffee available for anyone who needed an early evening pick-me-up. Delicious.
Anna Shoemaker’s musical tastes were first displayed by her selection of opening acts: Coming-of-age vocal sensation Kristiane whose enchanting originals and nostalgic cover of Paramore’s “The Only Exception” broke the ice for the “Iced Coffee” release. After Kristiane, Charlotte Rose Benjamin, an angelic singer/songwriter, kept the energy building with infectious numbers about dating DJs and comically relatable slices of NYC life.

After a brief intermission for iced coffee and the chance to say, “hi!” to Shoemaker, the real treat began. Those who know Shoemaker’s music can attest—infectious melodies and visceral lyrics cause you to fall in love (or friendship) rather immediately. As a relatively new listener, I was immediately taken by the crowd’s state of hypnosis. Audible bated breath was detectable prior to each song.
Her second song, “Fields,” revealed her ever-present mullings about leaving “this city.” The verse in “Fields” is the kind that makes you involuntarily bob your head like a baseball souvenir, but the pre-chorus is what really grabs you – a musical drop out and a confessional-like whisper everyone in the room knew by heart, “Did you think I’d leave without you? I can’t count to three without you.” She had us.

Sometimes the end of a concert isn’t the worst thing in the world… But sometimes it feels like being torn from a lucid dream.
This was the latter. But, like Anna Shoemaker’s time in New York (technically, she’ll tell her friends she’s **trying** to be bi-coastal), the time for a curtain call had come. But before saying goodbye, she delighted the crowd with her first hit, “Holly.” As she contemplated the future, she once again wondered, “Did you mean to put your cigarette out on my heart?”
The many guests of Anna Shoemaker walked in that night as strangers, but we all walked out as family.
Anna’s Family.
Anna Shoemaker’s sophomore album Someone Should Stop Her is set to release February 21 via +1 Records.
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Rob Colucci is a writer, composer and creative director based in Brooklyn, NY. He’s worked with brands such as the ACLU, Heineken and Häagen Dazs. He is a co-founder of Public Domain, a creative studio bringing world-class creative to brands that are helping the world.
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:: stream/purchase Someone Should Stop Her here ::
:: connect with Anna Shoemaker here ::
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Stream: “Iced Coffee” – Anna Shoemaker
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