Anna Ash (Floodlights Anniversary) & Lila Forde (Album Release)

**Anna Ash (Floodlights Anniversary) & Lila Forde (Album Release)** With a voice steeped in jazz, soul, folk, and old-school American songcraft, the Seattle-born, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter has always carried a deep sense of self through her music. But on Life Can Still Be Sweet, her sophomore album, that self comes into fuller focus: A little older, a little wiser, and more firmly in command of the world she’s building. Warm, whimsical, and full of growing pains, the record captures Forde in the thick of her twenties – learning lessons, finding her people, and holding onto beauty even when life gets hard. “I think I have a unique voice – not just my literal voice, but my proverbial voice,” Forde says. “In this day and age, and in this industry, there’s a lot of trend following, and there’s a lot of homogeny. I’m just really trying to be my own artist.” That individuality has been there from the beginning. Her 2025 debut album Vessel introduced her sound with grace and intention. Arriving after Forde’s Top 5 run on Season 24 of The Voice, Vessel affirmed what had already been true: “I want to be a vessel for the music,” she said at the time. “I’m here to serve it.” Life Can Still Be Sweet is the sound of that next Lila arriving in real time. Where Vessel was recorded before The Voice and released after a long gestation, this new record feels present in her hands – immediate, timely, and deeply connected to the life she’s living now. Since releasing Vessel, Forde