Focus: Annis Rallis

Who are you and where are you from?
I’m Annis Rallis, a singer-songwriter, professional dancer and performer from Newton Aycliffe in County Durham. I grew up surrounded by creativity – my mam is a dance teacher, my aunty was a professional singer, and my grandma bought me my first guitar as a child. Music and performing have always been a huge part of my life.

What is it you do?
I write and perform honest, story-led music. I play guitar and ukulele, and my songs are a mixture of my experiences, emotions and influences, blending elements of indie, pop, rock, folk and my Greek heritage.

How long have you been doing it?
I’ve been performing since I was young, first through dance and music. I studied performing arts at Newcastle College and Stockton Riverside before going on to professionally train at The Urdang Academy in London in dance and musical theatre.

After graduating in 2018, I spent several years working professionally across Europe in theatre, performing in shows and tours and covering principal roles. Although I loved that world, I reached a point where I needed to reconnect with myself outside of performing someone else’s story.

I completed a yoga teacher training in Bali, which became a huge turning point for me. It brought me back to my guitar after years of leaving it behind and encouraged me to start writing poetry and songs. Looking back, my theatre journey taught me how to tell stories, and yoga helped me become brave enough to tell my own.

What inspires you?
I’m inspired by honest storytellers and artists who aren’t afraid to be vulnerable. I love music with a strong narrative and emotion behind it. Artists like Raye inspire me because of the honesty and drama in her songwriting.

My theatre background also means I love the cinematic side of music, I’m drawn to powerful arrangements and collaborations, including artists who bring in different instruments and cultures. Listening to musicians like Mark Eliyahu inspired me to explore my own Greek heritage and bring those influences into my music.

Tell us about your music.
Since returning to the North East, I’ve immersed myself in the local music scene and have been lucky enough to start gigging regularly across the region. I love the community and collaboration within the Newcastle music scene, for me, music is about connection and sharing stories.

My own music is very personal. Writing songs feels like finally being able to step out from behind a character and share who I really am.

What have you got coming up in the future?
I have my debut EP, Eyes Wide Open, coming out this year. It’s an incredibly personal project and brings together many parts of my journey, including artwork painted by my grandma, which makes it even more special.

I’m excited to continue writing, performing and building my place within the North East music community. I feel like this is only the beginning.

Where can people find out more about you?
I share my music, upcoming gigs and my journey from musical theatre into becoming a singer-songwriter on my social media channels. And I they can stream my music on all the streaming platforms including Spotify & Apple Music. With regular gigs at all the Stacks around the North East.