Artist Spotlights: Moving Forward with Annie DiRusso

Combining the grit of New York City with the unique sound of Nashville, Annie DiRusso’s music embodies the inexplicable melancholy of growing up too fast with no direction.

Artist Spotlights introduces you to artists that may not be on your radar yet, but should be. With recently cancelled tours and income loss for small artists, there’s no time like the present to find new talent to support.

Written By Caroline Harrison

Photo courtesy of Annie DiRusso

Recommended If You Like: Lucy Dacus, Briston Maroney, Mitski

With over four million streams on Spotify this year alone, Annie DiRusso is making a name for herself in the indie-rock scene. After releasing three singles from 2018 to 2019, Annie DiRusso joined TikTok in 2020 to promote her fourth single, “20.” The song’s first teaser got over 218,000 views. 

Since establishing her platform, she has explored various indie music elements to create her own unique sound. Based in New York City and Nashville, DiRusso seamlessly blends the spunk and wistfulness of the two cities. The singer-songwriter’s heavy guitar and steady percussive sound balances her blunt yet captivating lyricism and voice, a juxtaposition reminiscent of the music and culture from the cities she calls home. With a gritty and honest narrative, her discography can best be described as the perfect coming-of-age soundtrack.

With gritty and painfully honest lyrics, “20” epitomizes the anxiety everyone feels as they near their twentieth birthday. Singing “Well I don't have a ride / Or a license to show / Almost twenty years now / Where did all the time go?” DiRusso’s alarm is a representative experience of leaving your teenage years. In an interview with Women In, she explained her relationship with growing up, saying, “I've always been kind of weird about my age. When I was younger I'd always get kind of upset when I'd get a year older. I felt it was some kind of betrayal to childhood.” Her sense of self-betrayal builds as she sings the final chorus, “I'm not ready to go / And I'm not ready to grow / Oh, I'm so bad at being alone / I'm almost twenty years old,” and DiRusso’s last word slowly turns into a scream as heavy drumming and electric guitar takes over. The frustrated shriek and wild instrumental embodies the panicky dread of new expectations and responsibilities as one leaves their teenage years behind.

Annie DiRusso’s latest single, “Coming Soon,” continues to explore the uncertainty during a coming-of-age and the struggles of finding a direction.

When announcing its release on her Instagram, she said, “This song is about celebrating getting better and moving forward even if you’re not exactly where you want to be. It’s about that moment when you realize you’re not dwelling on something as much as you used to.” Released two days after the one-year anniversary of “20,” “Coming Soon” exemplifies DiRusso’s personal and musical growth in her candid and self-accepting lyricism. As she sings “I'm doin' fine / Only losin' my mind every once in a while / And it's been cool / Only thinkin' of you every time that I do / Still, it's a lot / But it's not as much as I'm used to,” she combines “20”’s unease about aging and healing from a relationship in one song. Adding a steady electric guitar strum that eventually breaks off into a catchy rock riff, DiRusso captures the same freedom and exploration she sings about. Dating at such a formative age inspires a great amount of personal growth in a short amount of time, and DiRusso’s music is a place for everyone to process and accept who they are becoming.

With Annie DiRusso’s talent for combining shared experiences of growing pains into singles like “20” and “Coming Soon,” her growing fame is well-deserved. Other songs like “Nine Months” and “Judgements From The World’s Greatest Band” are more anthems of breaking up, growing up, and taking in the world as it is. 

As she continues to create the perfect soundtrack for growing up, fans hope DiRusso’s debut album is coming soon.

Listen to Annie DiRusso on Spotify and find her on Tiktok, Instagram, and Twitter @anniedirusso.