Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Lester, Bobby Kid.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I’ve been surrounded by music from a young age, and my dad taught me a few guitar chords when I was 8-ish. I dropped it for a couple of years since my hands were small and it was a frustrating instrument to learn. I picked it back up when I was 12 or 13 and started experimenting with songwriting! I learned a lot of covers (think old Taylor Swift and a lot of Paramore), but eventually I began to try and write some songs of my own. I didn’t write any memorable songs until I was in high school, and that’s when I really fell in love with songwriting. I was experiencing a lot of life changes around that time and songwriting really helped me cope with some difficult shit that was happening in my life! Even at that point, I never saw myself in a band. I didn’t have enough confidence to even play my original songs for anyone, so I couldn’t imagine acquiring bandmates and playing songs for them. (I also grew up in Savannah, where the music scene is sort of weak because most if not all venues are 21+!) After I graduated high school, I posted an original song on Soundcloud and shared it on Twitter. I got a lot of positive feedback, which was super encouraging, but I still couldn’t see myself actively playing music in any setting. The summer after I graduated was when my friends and I started driving to Jacksonville, FL from Savannah to see local bands play. Since we didn’t have much of a local scene up in Savannah, we just sort of threw ourselves into the Jacksonville scene. We met some of my best friends because of that, and eventually, I met my now-husband Brian because of it. He was playing drums in a band called The Nixon Tapes, and my friends and I kind of accidentally went to their release show. We went to see the band opening for them, but fell in love with The Nixon Tapes. After I met Brian, he really started to encourage me to work on my music and share it with people. We dated an entire YEAR before I even mustered enough nerve to play music for him, but once we began to play together, it was clear that a band was going to come of it. Eventually, I moved to Jacksonville, and Bobby Kid was born. We started playing shows as “Bobby Kid” with our friend Jack on bass, and people seemed to like it a lot. That was insane for me, to see people reacting to my songs like that. Brian’s old bandmate and lifelong friend Taylor eventually joined us and helped us record our debut record, “Peach.” We started playing shows as a band in December of 2017, and I feel like we’ve experienced a lot of growth since then! Jack moved to Orlando, but our friend Phil joined on bass last summer. I’m proud of us, and it’s so fun being in a band with my husband and best friends.
Please tell us about your art.
I’m a songwriter. I usually begin to write songs on guitar, and then add lyrics that are always inspired by what’s going on in my life. When I graduated high school, I wrote a lot about the loss of my faith and the loss of the religion I grew up in. That was super huge for me then, and writing about it was really therapeutic. When I moved to Jacksonville, I experienced a lot of homesickness. I was having the time of my life in a new city, but I missed my family terribly, and that’s when almost all of the songs on “Peach” were written. Though I write about topics that are super important to me and my life as an individual, my hope is that people can relate to the songs for their own reasons. The ultimate goal for myself as an artist is to write music that makes people feel less alone in their experiences, because that’s what music has done for me.
Given everything that is going on in the world today, do you think the role of artists has changed? How do local, national or international events and issues affect your art?
I do think that artists can be heavily influenced by politics and current events, but I don’t think that’s anything new! I think artists have drawn influence from the world around them as long as people have been making art. For me personally, I just try really hard to make sure that any show or event we’re involved in is a safe place for people to just enjoy themselves and feel supported and accepted. I think it’s important to establish those standards as an artist, especially as a musician.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
Our music is on all streaming services! Our record “Peach” came out last summer, and we just started recording our new music. You can also follow us on social media (@bobbykidddd) to see when and where we’re playing shows!
Contact Info:
- Website: bobbykid.bandcamp.com
- Email: bobbykidmusic@gmail.com
- Instagram: bobbykidddd
- Facebook: bobby kid
- Twitter: bobbykidddd
Image Credit:
Photo of us on the wall- Carson Hall
Green photo- Noah McIntosh
Photo of the four of us with our arms around each other- Chelsea Hart-Cantabene
Black and white photo- Jesse Brantman
The first photo I uploaded on the page before the last was also Carson Hall.
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