Annie Stokes “Open Secret”
Americana Highways is hosting this premiere of Annie Stokes’ song “Open Secret” from her forthcoming album Ghostwriter, which is set for release on April 4. This song will be available on January 10th. Ghostwriter was produced, engineered, mixed, and mastered by Austin Bello.
“Open Secret” is Annie Stokes on vocals and banjo; Will Berger on acoustic guitar and bass; Austin Bello on percussion; and Marty Garfield-Levine on fiddle. Bright strings and Annies’ songbird vocals strike you right out of the gate, as this song balances between driving Western vibes and a timeless sounding song that addresses a modern and timely challenge – surviving social media. Maybe it’s not survivable, and maybe the best thing you can ever do for yourself is turn it off: “your open secret is in danger, you’re taking comments from a stranger.”
This song came together from multiple different, initially unrelated, threads. My husband had written a riff in drop-D, I’d been listening to a lot of Appalachian heartbreak ballads, and I’d temporarily taken social media off of my phone. I eventually decided to write a break-up song about making a monumental change in my longest relationship – the one I had with social media and the performance of my values. “Open Secret” is about reclaiming my own sovereignty over my life and my mind. – Annie Stokes
Find more details here on Annie’s website: https://anniestokesmusic.com/home
