Alternative folk artist Anna May today unveils her newest single “Elegy,” a stirring meditation on grief set against the sun-baked landscapes of Southern California. Accompanied by a raw, handheld-camera video shot by Taylor Hungerford in Sherman Oaks, “Elegy” follows Anna’s acclaimed release “The Show,” which earned KUTX’s Song of the Day honors in August 2024.
“Elegy” invites listeners into a vocally rich folk ballad laced with unexpected doo-wop flourishes. Here, Anna distills personal tragedy into metaphorical and melodic nuance, crafting a song of stark longing and place-steeped sorrow. The video’s unvarnished performance aesthetic underscores the song’s intimacy, capturing every tremor of emotion in real time.
Premiered by V13 Media, “Elegy” has already been spotlighted by Ones to Watch, Ditty TV, Americana UK, Paul Dettmann, KXFM Laguna Beach, Tinnitist, Out the Box Music, Soundsplore, BFF.FM, The Listen Local Show (San Diego), and The Boston Chris Show & Country and Northeastern on WERU.
Anna May has shared stages with Kacy Hill, Amythyst Kiah, The Arcadian Wild, People Museum, Jann Klose, Altan, the Michigan Rattlers, and Jacob Jolliff. Festival appearances include Wildflower Music & Arts Festival and Treefort Music Festival. In 2023, she earned a nomination for Best Indie Song from Indie Boulevard Magazine; in 2024, she was featured on NPR’s Great American Folk Show, WKU PBS Lost River Sessions, and the WDVX Blue Plate Special, and nominated for Best Americana Act at the New England Music Awards.
“When I sing ‘Elegy,’ I am brought closest to who I lost. It is as if I can reach into the song and capture the special parts of him, when I feel them fading. This song feels more intimate and more revealing than work I’ve done before. It is mostly sober and somber, but I wanted to decorate it with some playful melodies that remind me of doo-wop.
To me, this song really feels like San Diego and like a very short-lived sliver of pleasure. I am so happy to have this song, which would not have existed without the pain that I’ve felt, for all these months. I never thought that I would have to write a song like this one, and I resisted the difficult process. This was edited more heavily than other songs that I’ve written. There are conscious details placed throughout, specific to who it is written for, and I am proud to have cultivated a sort of secret language.
It is an instantly therapeutic & visceral experience as an artist to be present with a song like this. It means so much to me, and I hope that it can resonate for listeners and allow them space to explore the transcendent sorts of moments in their lives, that often times feel, might not come back. This is to hanging onto them, in whatever raw and stark form we find ourselves. I wanted it to be the words for the silence after a breakup. It is an elegy for the most that I’ve ever loved and the most cruel that I’ve ever been treated.”
Official Links
Watch the “Elegy” video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRtRyewRG0c
Stream “Elegy” on Bandcamp: https://annamay.bandcamp.com/track/elegy
Recording catalog: https://annamay.bandcamp.com
Official website: https://annamaymusic.com
Live Video Samples
Wild performance at Lost River Sessions: https://www.facebook.com/WKUPBS/videos/557379909945773/
Acoustic set snippet: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ2VVwBfVUw
Sherman Oaks live take: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uzu3_VB26oE&pp=ygUPQW5uYSBtYXkgZGV0YWNo
Full live concert excerpt: https://youtu.be/i6beeEx20Bs?si=m_3VSwxvZ80c5g3A
Social Media
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annamayfolk
