Annie & The Caldwells
Thursday 5 June from 8pm to 11pm
A soul disco dance party!
Annie & The Caldwells are a family from Mississippi that plays a powerful disco soul, led by mother Ms. Annie Caldwell. Their music won’t only move you spiritually but emotionally as well – with songs that are as much at home in a church of God as in the church of the dance floor.
Their incredible first single, 'Wrong', has been remixed by disco legend Nicky Siano. Their new album Can’t Lose My (Soul) on David Byrne’s Luaka Bop label is 40 years in the making and has already gotten rave reviews in MOJO and The Guardian.
Ms. Annie is backed by daughters Deborah and Anjessica, and goddaughter Toni Rivers; their eldest son Willie Jr. is on the bass and youngest son Abel Aquirius is on the drums. Their father and Annie’s husband of the last fifty years, Willie Joe Caldwell, Sr, is on guitar.
They generally play on weekends – for their day jobs Annie runs a clothing store, Willie Jr. drives a forklift, Abel Aquirius drives hospital patients, Anjessica works in customer care for an insurance company, Toni is an elementary school teacher, and Deborah does hair. Ms. Annie herself runs Caldwell Fashions – which has been a beloved staple for women dressing for COGIC (Church Of God In Christ) convocations and church anniversaries since the ’80s.
In November 2024, Annie & The Caldwells travelled to Utrecht in the Netherlands to perform at the prestigious Le Guess Who? Festival, where MOJO caught their showstopping performance and reviewed it as, “The most exciting, most dynamic family of faith imaginable: their rhythm section (dad and two sons) would give the Family Stone a run for its money; the front line (mum and daughters) have unquenchable sass and spirituality, and the crowd doesn’t need persuading to crash the stage and be saved by songs. It feels like 2025 may already be their year.” Amen to that.
“A fantastic album – funky, gritty and powerful… belting out raw, disco-tinged soul gospel” – Alexis Petridis, The Guardian
“The most exciting, most dynamic family of faith imaginable… would give the Family Stone a run for its money[!]” – MOJO