Stream Anthony da Costa’s Secret Handshake

Meet 21-year-old singer-songwriter Anthony da Costa. Already a folk festival veteran, the New York City artist on the rise is currently a Junior at Columbia University, where he studies ancient Greek and Roman History. You can hear his new album, Secret Handshake, below.

“Secret Handshake is an album of several firsts for me,” Da Costa tells American Songwriter. “It’s the first album I’ve ever made live in the studio with a rhythm section. It’s the first album I’ve ever made in a big studio with space and isolation booths. It’s also the first album that I’ve made that doesn’t feel like a folk record in any real sense, except that the songs are organic and straight from my head and heart. It’s an album about learning how to take care of yourself, emotionally and other wise. It’s about trying to be happy for once and letting go of the things that are constantly dragging you down. It’s about learning to love yourself, because it’s the only way that you can love anybody else. I’m super proud of these songs and recordings and can’t wait for people to hear them!”