Professional musician and singer-songwriter Annika Mari Seigel, who performs as Ani Mari has spent the past decade building a career built on thoughtful songwriting, engaging live performances, and a deep appreciation for Michigan’s landscapes and music communities.
A graduate of the University of Michigan with a degree in Arts & Ideas in the Humanities, Seigel has evolved from a young folk musician performing in the Upper Peninsula into an artist preparing to release her sophomore album, “The Masquerade,” this August.
Its first single, “Sun-kissed,” offers listeners an early glimpse into an album that explores adulthood, love, imagination, and the places that have shaped her life.
A musical childhood becomes a career
Music has been part of Seigel’s life from the very beginning.
“I grew up in Houghton, MI, in the Keweenaw Peninsula of the UP. I was raised by music-loving parents and took classical piano and voice lessons as a kid,” Seigel said.
Her first experience performing original music came when she was just 12 years old, alongside her childhood best friend, Kora Melia.
“I began performing music with my childhood best friend, Kora Melia, at the Blissfest Music Festival when we were 12 years old,” Seigel said. “We wrote a silly song on fiddle and ukulele about the forest at the music fest, titled ‘Dubious Decisions,’ and performed it at the main stage open mic!”
That performance led to something much bigger.
“From that first performance, we formed our folk duo, Ani & Kora, and spent the next six years touring and recording together. We split amicably after the release of our first studio album, Good Fighter, because I moved to Ann Arbor to go to U of M, and Kora stayed in the UP to study at Michigan Tech,” Seigel said.
Moving to Ann Arbor marked another turning point.
“At U of M, I continued studying and writing music and started performing under the name Ani Mari,” Seigel said. “I met my band—drummer Jack Harris, bassist Michael Michaud, and backing vocalist Ruby Howard—at school and we recorded my debut album, girlfriend, with friend and producer Erik Koskinen.”
Since then, the group has continued to grow.
“Since then, we’ve played countless shows across Michigan, gone on two major tours, and added guitarist Justin Pelofsky, fiddle player Rebekah Geller, and bassist Leif Owen to our ranks!”
A love letter to Michigan summers
The first single from The Masquerade reflects both Seigel’s childhood and her present life.
“Sun-kissed is a love song to Lake Michigan, my partner, and Michigan summers. I wrote it after visiting his family’s lake house in Suttons Bay for the first time, but the lyrics are also heavily inspired by the orange push-pop, skinned knees, camping on Lake Superior summers I grew up with in the Upper Peninsula,” Seigel said.
The song serves as an introduction to an album grounded in personal experiences while embracing broader storytelling.
A different sound—and a different process
While girlfriend captured the feel of musicians performing together in one room, Seigel intentionally approached The Masquerade differently.
“girlfriend was recorded Nashville-style, with the band singing and playing at the same time and adding little in post-production. The Masquerade is the first album I’ve done where I performed my guitar parts and vocals separately, which allowed me to experiment more with layering harmonies and guitar lines,” Seigel explained.
She wanted to preserve some of the energy of live performance while also expanding the album’s sonic possibilities.
“We recorded bass guitar, drums, and my guitars synchronously at Big Sky Recording in Ann Arbor to maintain some of a live feel, which was important to me with my folk background, but all of my vocals, the backing vocals, fiddle, extra guitars, and extra percussion were recorded separately,” Seigel said.
The result is an album that moves beyond her folk roots. “This recording process has definitely given The Masquerade more of a produced, pop, alt-rock feel than in my previous albums, which have more of an indie folk, roots-Americana sound,” Seigel said.
Just as important, the themes have matured. “While girlfriend was more about the heartbreak and uncertainty of entering my 20s, my writing in The Masquerade centers more on figuring out how to ‘be an adult’ post-college, being in love, and exploring my storytelling,” Seigel said.
Finding the right collaborator
When it came time to produce the record, Seigel knew she wanted someone who understood both folk music and the direction she hoped to take.
“My agency, Dynamic Talent International, pointed me to Chris as a local producer who specializes in folk artists who are going in more of a pop/rock direction. I was like, ‘Hey, that sounds like me!'”
She also admired his work as an artist.
“I also just really admire and respect Chris as a songwriter and guitarist, and loved the sound of past projects he’s produced,” Seigel said.
Pushing creative limits
Many of the songs on The Masquerade were written during Seigel’s senior year at the University of Michigan while completing her honors thesis.
Writing consistently every day wasn’t easy. “I wrote about half of these songs during my senior year at U of M for my senior honors thesis in Arts & Ideas in the Humanities, which is one of the only times I can remember forcing myself to write so consistently and daily,” Seigel said.
The challenge ultimately strengthened her confidence. “It was really hard but also showed me that pushing myself to my creative limits can yield some of the songs I’m most proud of so far in my career!”
Learning to tell bigger stories
Looking back on her debut album, Seigel says one of her biggest discoveries has been allowing herself greater creative freedom.
“In past albums, I wrote very literally and tried to tell stories about things that had really happened to me, mostly about relationships and growing up in the UP,” Seigel said.
Eventually, she realized small moments could spark much larger narratives.
“I found it very freeing and creatively energizing to be inspired by a small thing that happened to me in real life… and then extrapolating that into a crazy, fictional story and just letting myself run with that idea,” Seigel said.
She points to one unexpected example. “A little warning sign that I saw on a hike became a bluegrass murder ballad about a deranged lover who stages the murder of her beloved as a deer hunting accident,” Seigel said.
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That creative approach continued throughout the new album.
“I continued to explore my storytelling in The Masquerade, especially in tracks like ‘Track Star,’ ‘Genevieve,’ and ‘Josephine.’ All of the tracks are based on my real life, but I also just allowed myself to be freer with the storytelling and songwriting in general. I’m excited for listeners to enter these worlds that I’ve spent so much time creating!”
Growing in Ann Arbor
Seigel credits Ann Arbor with helping shape her as both a musician and performer.
“Ann Arbor has been such an amazing place to grow as a musician over the past five years. There are so many incredible musicians at U of M, which is how I met my bandmates, and the house show scene was a great way to play for other students and increase my name recognition while I was in school,” Seigel said.
She has also found a home at several local venues. “Even though Ann Arbor doesn’t have a ton of venues, the ones we do have are amazing and really uplift local artists. I play so frequently at The Blind Pig, North Star Lounge, and The Ark, that they all feel like second homes to me,” Seigel said.
Working behind the scenes has expanded her musical community even further. “After college, I started sound engineering and waitressing at the North Star Lounge, through which I’ve met so many amazing local musicians,” Seigel said.
Built for the stage
Although she enjoys recording, Seigel says performing live remains the heart of her career.
“I’m excited to invite my audience into the little worlds that I create in each song. Playing live has always been, and continues to be, the reason I do this—I love connecting with other people through music,” Seigel said.
Fans attending her concerts can expect performances that go well beyond what’s captured on the album.
“During concerts, I love to talk to my audience and give a little backstory for each song. The band and I also love to jam more live than we do on the record,” Seigel said.
She also makes sure every member of the band has an opportunity to shine. “I have the privilege of getting to play with some amazing pickers, so it’s a priority that they all get time to solo during each show!”
On Aug. 15, Seigel and her band will celebrate the release of a 7-inch LP while kicking off the Midwest portion of their tour with both early and late-night performances at North Star Lounge.
Simply wanting to keep playing
As The Masquerade prepares for its August release, Seigel says her ambitions remain refreshingly straightforward.
“I’m really excited to tour this summer and to start writing the next album after The Masquerade drops in August. I really hope that this album reaches more listeners than the last and that each subsequent release keeps reaching a broader audience,” Seigel said.
For her, success has never been about chasing fame.
“I don’t really have a huge aspirational goal with music. I just want to play and keep playing! I love making art, and I love connecting with my audience through our shared stories and love of art, and those will always be my two main priorities,” Seigel said.
She encourages supporters to experience the music in person whenever possible.
“Coming to a live show, buying a record, and sharing my music on socials are definitely the best (and most fun) ways to support me right now.”
Donna Marie Iadipaolo is a writer, journalist, and State of Michigan certified teacher, since 1990. She has written for national publications like The Village Voice, Ear Magazine of New Music, Insurance & Technology, and TheStreet.
She is now writing locally for many publications, including Current Magazine, Ann Arbor Family, and the Ann Arbor Independent. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she graduated with an honors bachelor’s degree and three teacher certificate majors: mathematics, social sciences, English. She also earned three graduate degrees in Master of Science, Master of Arts, and Education Specialist Degree.
