+ by Jeff Muller + photos by Gregg Patrick Boersma
2020, and the pandemic that accompanied it, was a year of massive change for many people. For Annapolis-based singer-songwriter Daphne Eckman, it would be a seminal moment in her budding music career.
Eckman had planned to attend Towson University to major in vocal performance, but the COVID-19 lockdown meant that the performances central to her coursework wouldn’t be possible. With her plans interrupted, she pivoted and focused on becoming a working singer-songwriter. By July, Eckman had penned “Speeding On (Phoebe’s Song),” a composition she says marked the beginning of her journey to become a professional musician.
Over the next two years, she continued writing songs as she worked through the pain of an unhealthy relationship. Eckman’s initial goal was to record an album of original songs, which she then saw as a sign of having “made it.” Along the way, she found a group of sympathetic musicians who would become her band.
Together, they recorded Where You Left Me, Eckman’s debut album, released in January 2024. She also released several videos—including a submission to National Public Radio’s popular Tiny Desk Contest and a cleverly animated short—that, along with the album, have garnered praise and gained her a growing following. Messages started pouring in from fans as far away as Canada, England, and even Australia, where a student wrote an arrangement of Eckman’s song “Acupuncture” for their school orchestra.
Harnessing the interest generated by her creative output, Eckman embarked on several tours in 2024, including a full band tour of the Northeast in January, a duo tour of the Southeast in April, and a fall 13-city band tour that took her from Atlanta to Chicago. At the same time, she has continued to record and release new music while learning the ins and outs of booking, marketing, and managing a band. While she is clear-eyed about the challenges and is still trying to find the right balance in her life, Eckman is driven to succeed. Luckily, she is building on a strong creative foundation.
In many ways, Eckman’s decision to pursue a career in music may seem preordained. “I’ve been surrounded by music my whole life,” she says. Her grandfather, drummer Mickey Eckman, has been a fixture in the Annapolis scene for decades, and she grew up seeing him perform around town. In school, she was classmates with drummer Aidan Ewald, whose guitar-wielding father is another local icon. Having these musicians in her sphere—combined with possessing a dynamic voice and strong creative drive—afforded Eckman opportunities to perform in public at a young age, sitting in with Dan Haas and other notable local acts.
While her steady exposure to musical talent was important to her development, Eckman also credits her parents with helping her find her way. “They knew before anybody what I was gonna do and have supported me throughout,” she says. “At the same time, they’re direct and honest with me and will tell me when a song I have written stinks. I’m really lucky to have such a support system that’s cheering me on.”
Another key factor that Eckman ascribes to her creative growth is the Annapolis scene, which she deems robust and supportive. She’s excited about the recent proliferation of female performers and bandleaders, and for the emergence of female-led efforts such as the Songbird Collective. And she credits venues including 49 West Coffeehouse, Winebar & Gallery and Cult Classic Brewing for offering spaces for songwriters to hone their craft—and for taking chances on up-and-coming performers. Perhaps most importantly, she was able to cultivate a stellar band from this vibrant music scene.
Eckman—whose songs are deeply personal—is someone who prizes trust and demands it of the musicians with whom she works. That’s why she feels deeply grateful to have found a group with whom she feels both kinship and connection. “I have never felt happier than at this moment when I’m playing with all my best friends,” she says. That she has surrounded herself with a bunch of men who are so pro-female that they lovingly refer to themselves as “the ladies” is not lost on her.
As with all aspects of her life, Eckman was purposeful in how she built her band. First on board was her uncle Robin, a well-respected drummer who found both creative and familial fulfillment from their collaboration. Next to join was bassist and vocalist Graham Furniss, who met Eckman at an open mic and who moved her to tears with his contributions to the demo of her song “Cannibal,” which was eventually included on the album. Guitarist Mikko Dumadag—who played in emo punk and hardcore bands—was added when he and Eckman bonded over a shared love of Phoebe Bridgers and other ambient “sad girl stuff.” The final member to join was multi-instrumentalist Thomas Beall (aka Gingerwolf), who began as a session player on the album, then joined select shows as a special guest until they formalized the relationship.
The band has changed the way Eckman thinks about her music and her future. On the one hand, she feels responsible for ensuring that they can achieve financial and creative success through their music. On the other, she is grateful for the ways in which her bandmates have stepped up to help share the load—and is growing more comfortable with not doing it all herself. Perhaps the biggest shift has been in how she views the music, which Eckman now calls “our music” due to the collaborative way all band members are contributing to arrangement and production ideas for the songs.
As she prepares for her latest tour, Eckman notes some of the other things that have changed—including herself—since she started on this journey not long ago. “[A] lot has shifted and changed for what pursuing music actually means for me,” she says. She has done and learned much in a short time yet knows there is more she needs to know and do to succeed in this business.
One of the things Eckman has learned is the importance of leaving sufficient space in her life to create. After spending a period taking every gig she could get, she realized that the effort it takes to do nightly bar gigs covering other people’s songs distracts from creating and promoting her original music. So, for now, she is working shifts as a barista to help pay the bills and subsidize her band through its start-up phase. She is also taking a short break at the end of the fall tour to focus on writing new material—and reestablishing her relationship with the music itself.
Ultimately, she approaches it all with a combination of gratitude and perspective beyond her years. “I’ve constantly surprised myself, like, really surprised myself,” she says. “There are so many things that have happened that I would have never expected. Right now, I’m just taking things one day at a time.”
For more information, visit daphneeckman.com.
