composer-IN-RESIDENCE
January 7-19, 2026
Annie Bacon
Annie Bacon is a writer and songwriter living with her teenage son in Ann Arbor, Michigan (via Maine and San Francisco). With her OSHEN she merges a literary writing style and folk-rock Americana sound to create rich and emotionally complex music. Bacon emerges from a loss-filled five years with 2024’s Storm, praised as “a landmark release” (Glide), “mature and sophisticated songwriting” (AmericanaUK), and “brilliant nostalgic elegance” (The Wild Is Calling). Her songs have earned IMA (Finalist-Americana), Great River Song Contest (runner-up), and ISC (semi-finalist) awards and been placed in film & TV. She also composed a folk opera, co-created a full-length musical, and is currently pitching a novel on themes of motherhood & war.
Artist Statement
Exile to Neptune is an electro-folk album started during the pandemic in a period of deep grief and the discoveries that death drops at one’s feet. It is an account of awakening to a self-imposed exile (aka dissociation) in the face of trauma. I will spend the residency finishing the album, and immersing myself in the recording process, where I aim to integrate the organic with the electronic, pulling from drum machines and bird songs both. I will also lead a singing workshop focused on listening and breath. The root of all singing is breath. Learning to breathe brings nervous system relief, better physical attunement, a feeling of embodied power, AND it helps us bring out our true singing voice. From the root of breath, we rise together.