Annie Bosko Makes a Little (Okay, a Lot) of Noise at Country Jam 2016
It was just Annie Bosko and her guitarist/keyboard player/beatmaker onstage at Country Jam 2016, but, man, did the two of them make some noise to begin Day 3 (June 18) of the festival.
Throughout her 30-minute set, Bosko worked the Country Jam stage to win over a crowd that was relatively small, but contained some vocal fans. The singer-songwriter is akin to a poppier, rockier Kacey Musgraves with some thumping beats mixed in. Songs such as "Crooked Halo" — which she dedicated to the daughter of one of the photographers camped out in front of the stage — and "Born Wild" allowed Bosko to show off her varied influences and have a bit of fun onstage.
And fun she had. During one tune, Bosko brought out a crew member to show off his dance skills and then tried out some of her own. The artist mentioned from stage that she is all about having a good time while performing, and whether she was mugging for the cameras, interacting with the fans down front or just belting out a tune, she made that fact clear.
"I get a lot from my mama," Bosko told the crowd before performing a song all about her mother's influence. Pressed by an audience member, she added, "I got my amazing personality from my mom. And my cooking skills!"
Bosko has performed numerous times for prison inmates, so a cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" — just Bosko and a guitar — was a fitting addition to her set. She followed the country classic with the anthemic "Fighter," noting, "We've had a lot of really crazy stuff go on in this country this past week," and telling her crowd to "keep fighting the good fight."
Rounding out Bosko's set were "You Look Like I Need a Drink" — no, not the Justin Moore song, but a honky-tonk number with a sassy, talk-y verse that Bosko herself wrote "on Southwest Airlines on a barf bag" about four years ago — and "Cowboy Up." But rather than just saying thank you and waving goodbye, the up-and-comer made sure to commemorate her Country Jam set with a from-stage selfie with the festival-goers.