About the Band
Annie & the Hedonists is a dynamic Americana roots band based in New York’s Capital Region, celebrated for its soulful vocals, superb musicianship, and spirited interpretations of vintage American music. Fronted by the captivating voice of Annie Rosen, the group brings to life an eclectic mix of blues, jazz, swing, folk, gospel, and old-timey tunes, with a special emphasis on the works of iconic female blues and jazz artists from the early 20th century.
Annie’s powerful and expressive vocals evoke the spirit of legendary performers like Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald—paying homage while adding her own unique flair. The band features a lineup of highly accomplished musicians: Jonny Rosen (guitar, vocals), Peter Davis (piano, clarinet, tenor guitar), Don Young (upright bass), Jerry Marotta (drums), each bringing decades of performance experience and a deep love of roots music to the stage.
The band’s repertoire spans a century of American music, from the foot-stomping blues of the Mississippi Delta and swinging jazz standards to Appalachian folk ballads and lively Western swing. Their performances are not only musically rich but also steeped in storytelling, inviting audiences on a journey through the diverse landscapes of America's musical past.
Annie & the Hedonists have delighted audiences at major folk festivals, listening rooms, and concert halls across the Northeast and beyond. Whether performing at a festival, a house concert, or an elegant club, the band creates an intimate, joyful experience that resonates with music lovers of all ages.
See our repertoire list and list of workshops.
Annie Rosen - Lead Vocals
Annie Rosen grew up on the south side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This area was rich with the culture of immigrants from Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Eastern Europe. Her own family had emigrated from Slovenia and both of her parents played the accordion. Annie and her five siblings grew up in the culturally rich South Side of Milwaukee and were exposed to all kinds of music including Eastern European, Middle Eastern, Latin, and contemporary American music. Annie always loved to sing and joined a Serbian dance group as a teen.
Coming of age in the 1960’s and 70’s, she was exposed to the emergence of rock and roll and the folk revival. One of her sister Louise’s best friends was Penny Fox, and Penny and her husband Dave were mainstays in the Milwaukee Folk Music Society. It was during this period that Annie was exposed to traditional blues guitar playing and singing. She soon was recognized as a standout singer and formed a trio that performed jug band, vaudevillian blues, and old timey music. She played some stand up bass and would throw in some Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan.
Her musical partnership with husband Jonny dates back to 1983. They were part of the electric quartet, “Center Street Blues Band”, and performed extensively as a duo throughout Wisconsin. When visiting Jonny’s father Sam, he would always play his old 78 rpm records spanning from Leadbelly and Big Bill Broonzy to Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday which was a great source of musical inspiration.
Today Annie is recognized as a premier interpreter of the great female blues and jazz artists of the 1920’s-40’s as well as adept at multiple musical genres. When asked what inspires her musically she said, “it’s all about the raw emotion and rhythm."
Jonny Rosen - Guitar & Vocals
Jonny grew up in a musical family. His father Sam had a booming rich baritone and he loved to sing and play blues and jazz standards on the piano, baritone uke, and tenor banjo. Although, he wasn’t an accomplished musician, he was a serious collector of jazz, blues, and folk recordings. Jonny has inherited his dad’s 78 rpm collection. It was this exposure to roots music that inspired Jonny when he came of age in the 1960’s to pick up the acoustic guitar and try to mimic Josh White’s “One Meatball” and “Outskirts of Town”.
Jonny has always performed music in the context of his involvement in the labor and other social movements. When he met Annie in the early 1980’s they were involved in the Milwaukee Folk Music Society, where Jonny learned the alternating bass style of finger picking studying Doc Watson, Mississippi John Hurt, and others.
Every holiday ended up a hootenanny with Jonny’s mother’s brothers Arnold and Sammy leading the way singing songs of Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, and others. In fact, these two uncles helped to write “Charlie and the MTA” when they were part of the “People’s Singers of Boston” in support of the Progressive Party Candidate, Walter O’Brien.
Jonny further developed his guitar playing under the tutelage of expert guitarists associated with the Pick’n’ & Sing’n’ Gather’n’ folk organization when he and Annie moved to New York’s Capital District in 1990. This enabled him to expand his musical acumen to include old time blues, jazz, swing, folk, and old timey music.
