“A gospel masterpiece to drag you out of despair,” wrote The Guardian in a superlative review of Annie and the Caldwells’ album Can’t Lose My (Soul) from 2025. And The Guardian has not been alone in praising the band’s deep glow of soul, gospel and blues from West Point, Mississippi, which has garnered plenty of excellent reviews.
For Annie Caldwell, now 67, the joy of music and family are closely intertwined. "My family is my band," she has said, and Annie and the Caldwells do indeed have a very special organic sound thanks to family members who have an almost telepathic connection with each other. Annie Caldwell's raw soul vocals blend seamlessly with the crisp guitar tones of Willie Joe Caldwell, Sr., her husband of over 50 years. Meanwhile, their daughters deliver heavenly vocal harmonies, while their sons provide the rhythm section's cool groove.
Annie Caldwell grew up in a musical family and as a teenager was a member of the soul/gospel group The Staples Jr. Singers, which in 2022, thanks to David Byrne's Luaka Bop label, was brought out of musical obscurity and has since given fantastic concerts, including at the Roskilde Festival in 2024. Luaka Bop also released Can't Lose My (Soul), a masterpiece that bears witness to a musical family with soul music embedded in their DNA.
It is music that grows out of a community, which it simultaneously nourishes. For decades, the band has performed their music in churches and community centres in their local area, and the album was also recorded in their local church. The spiritual nerve is evident in music that embraces both the pain of blues and the liberating energy of funk. Now the family is ready to welcome the audience at Roskilde Festival into their community with unadulterated soul magic.
