There are plenty of songs about holiday cheer, but not everyone is buzzing with excitement about the festive season. If the thought of the new year ahead makes you feel melancholy, Anna Smyrk’s poignant new single “January Makes Me Sad” is for you. She recorded the track in Nashville with producers Jake Finch and Collin Pastore, known for their work with boygenius and Lucy Dacus. I can definitely hear their influence here, although it’s still got that recognisable Anna stamp.
“This is a song about the pressure that comes with the start of a new year,” Anna explained. “We have this culture of resolutions and renewal buzzing around in January and I always get sucked into it, thinking that this year I’m going to reinvent myself into a shiny new person. But inevitably the weeks go by and I’m still the same as I was last year.”
Anna should shake off the blues just in time for her first US tour in February. If you’re Stateside, here are all the dates you need:
1 February 2024 – Funk N Waffles, Syracuse
3 February 2024 – One Broadway Collaborative, Lawrence
4 February 2024 – Brick Hill House Concerts, Orleans
9 February 2024 – The Drum Roll, Rochester
10 February 2024 – Abilene, Rochester
11 February 2024 – Pittsburgh Winery, Pittsburgh
12 February 2024 – The Sharon Apollo Maennerchor Club, Sharon
13 February 2024 – The Treelawn Social, Cleveland
14 February 2024 – Grounds for Thought, Bowling Green
15 February 2024 – Natalie’s, Columbus
16 February 2024 – Hirth Happenings, Maineville
18 February 2024 – Bad Branch House Concerts, Whiteburge
21-25 February 2024 – Folk Alliance International Official Showcase, Kansas City
Photo credit: Jeff Andersen Jnr