Star Anna

Star Anna is a singer/songwriter from the Pacific Northwest whose music blends the rootsy sound of country with the edgy emotional honesty of rock & roll. Star Anna was born Star Anna Constancia Krogstie Bamford in Ellensburg, a town in central Washington, in 1985. Star's mother was a music fan (Star recalls hearing the Indigo Girls a lot as a child) and at the age of 11 years old she began learning to play the drums. Not long after entering high school, Star began drumming with a local punk rock band, No Continuous Standing (the name was taken from a set of rules posted in the school gym), but when she turned 16 she walked away from percussion and started teaching herself to play guitar. Star began writing songs and before long she was performing acoustic shows at local coffeehouses; personal matters took her away from performing for two years, but she picked up the guitar again and refocused her music, embracing a more country-oriented sound. Star also put together a backing band, the Laughing Dogs, featuring guitarist Justin Davis and drummer Travis Yost. Star attracted the attention of local independent label Malamute Records, who took her into the studio and released her first album, 2008's Crooked Path. A little more than a year later, Star returned with her second album, The Only Thing That Matters, with the Laughing Dogs given co-star billing; a more hard-edged set than her debut, The Only Thing That Matters earned enthusiastic reviews from the roots music press, and former Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan praised Star in his Seattle Weekly blog, writing "She is the real deal...she will be a talent that we can all say that ‘We saw her when....' Guaranteed."