Anne's Cordial plays a musical cocktail of folk, blues and retro songs with enchanting three-part vocal harmonies and unique instrumentation: guitar, harp and keyboard. Described as everything from "chamber folk" to "neo-classical," Anne's Cordial is a bright new voice in the New England acoustic scene with skillful arrangements of old and original songs.

Like their female-fronted counterparts the Wailin' Jennys, the Ditty Bops and the Andrews Sisters, the beautiful vocal harmonies of Anne's Cordial are what most listeners first remark on, but each band member is a versatile musician as well. Natalie Markward, who arranges most of the music, alternately fingerpicks, slides, and solos on jazz guitar; E. Reed Ferenbaugh interchanges ethereal solos and bass accompaniments on harp; Eva Kendrick, who plays keyboard and writes most of the original songs, sets lyrics "alternately chilling and sweet," and Joe Auger on a scaled-down drum kit adds the perfect backdrop for any style.

At an Anne's Cordial concert, you might hear bossas from the '60s, New Wave songs from the '80s and original folk-influenced songs that tell fable-like stories. The group has a knack for incorporating many genres, but reviewers occasionally tune in to the fact that most of the members are classically trained musicians. "Anne's Cordial can make a Christmas carol sound like they've got the blues and then turn around and make Robert Johnson's "Hellhound on My Trail" sound like a piece of Medieval music," remarked reviewer Rick Massimo. "I've never heard a Sonny Boy Williamson tune poised as if a fugue was about to break out," wrote the Providence Phoenix.

In 2009, Anne's Cordial released the eponymous Anne's Cordial EP, with tracks produced by Joe Auger and Qorq Productions and M. Spogga Hashaway and the Land of Blerk Productions. The Providence Journal praised Anne's Cordial's "beautiful vocal blend" and commented that through their original and cover songs "it all comes out sounding like themselves." The album, which features four original songs and two covers, is available on this website, at gigs and on iTunes.

Providence Journal (Rick Massimo)
THE PROVIDENCE-BASED female vocal trio Anne’s Cordial put their beautiful vocal blend (as well as piano, guitar and harp) to a variety of original songs ranging from trad jazz to bluegrass to country blues and covers ranging from Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Help Me” to The Church’s “Under the Milky Way,” but it all comes out sounding like themselves. Last year, some dope from The Providence Journal said they “can make a 16th-century Spanish Christmas carol sound like the blues, then turn around and make Robert Johnson’s ‘Hellhound on My Trail’ sound like a piece of medieval music.” Well, even a broken clock’s right twice a day (though they’ve added percussionist Joe Auger since then as well).

Singer and pianist Eva Kendrick says that their debut self-titled record will be available at this weekend’s show, but that mostly it’s going to be sold as a download. The group’s third member, on vocals and harp, is Erin Reed Ferenbaugh.

The disc took a couple of months to record, and Kendrick says that the disc holds nearly all the group’s originals to this date, and the covers were “the ones that showed us off the most as a trio.”

“[Singer-guitarist] Natalie Markward does most of the arranging” of the non-original material, Kendrick says, and it sometimes leads to anxious moments: “We’ll go ‘Really? You think that’s gonna work?’ But we trust her, and ourselves, enough to know that it’ll sound like us.” Not only that, but you’ll see connections between songs that you didn’t know were there, as well as the original songs, which use well-observed lyrical detail to produce effects alternately chilling and sweet. (06/09)

Providence Phoenix
MUST BE NEO-CLASSICAL . . .
When is classical music not classical music? When a trio of singers put their pristine voices to work infusing the vernacular with bossa nova and blues. That’s the tack of ANNE’S CORDIAL, three women who harmonize while playing harp, keyboard, and guitar. Their approach is disarming: I’ve never heard a Sonny Boy Williamson tune positioned to make it possible for a fugue to break out. I wasn’t even aware that medieval music had a sensual side. (06/09)

Providence Journal
"The Providence-based female trio Anne's Cordial can make a 16th century Spanish Christmas carol sound like the blues, then turn around and make Robert Johnson's "Hellhound on My Trail" sound like a piece of medieval music. They've got piano, guitar and harp, but the voices are the thing, both individually and (especially) combined. Highly recommended." - Rick Massimo of The Providence Journal (02/08)

Associated Conent
"Each woman of Anne's Cordial brings a unique background and focused energy to the performance. But it is their ease of collaboration that is so impressive."- Mary DeBarry.