Anam-cara is Maggie Newlands, Angela Reith and Judith Silver. They first met at the 1997 Guildhall Jazz Summer School and then began singing together in Scott Stroman's Eclectic Voices workshop under the guidance of West End Music Director, Nick Finlow (Chicago, Rent, Fosse, Mamma Mia).

They became Anam-cara in 2000 because they wanted to perform their own material as well as arranging and singing songs from different traditions. They have also collaborated with jazz saxophonist Tony Woods. Anam-cara means 'soul friend' in Gaelic