Ani DiFranco facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ani DiFranco
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DiFranco performing in 2007
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Angela Maria DiFranco |
| Born | September 23, 1970 Buffalo, New York, US |
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| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels | Righteous Babe |
Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco (born September 23, 1970) is an American-Canadian singer and songwriter. She is known for releasing over 20 albums. Her music is a mix of folk rock and alternative rock, but she also adds sounds from punk, funk, hip hop, and jazz. She releases all her music on her own record label, Righteous Babe.
DiFranco uses her music to support causes she believes in. She plays at special concerts to raise money, appears on benefit albums, and speaks at events. She supports groups that work on issues like LGBT rights. She has said that American folk singer Pete Seeger was one of her mentors.
DiFranco wrote a book about her life called No Walls and the Recurring Dream. It was released on May 7, 2019, and became a New York Times Best Seller.
On February 9, 2024, DiFranco began performing on Broadway. She played the role of Persephone in the musical Hadestown. She had also been the voice of Persephone on the original album for the show.
Contents
Early Life and School
DiFranco was born in Buffalo, New York, on September 23, 1970. Her parents, Elizabeth and Dante, met at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her father's family was from Italy, and her mother was from Montreal, Canada.
When she was only nine years old, DiFranco started playing Beatles songs in local bars. She also performed on the street, a practice known as busking, with her guitar teacher. By the time she was 14, she was writing her own songs and performing them in coffee houses. At 16, she graduated from the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts high school and started taking classes at Buffalo State College. She had been living on her own since she was 15.
Music Career
Starting Her Own Label
In 1989, when she was 19, DiFranco started her own record company called Righteous Babe Records. She released her first album, Ani DiFranco, in 1990 after moving to New York City. In the city, she took poetry classes and met the poet Sekou Sundiata, who became a good friend and teacher to her.
For the next 15 years, she toured almost constantly, only taking breaks to record new albums. She became more and more popular, playing at big folk festivals in Canada and in larger concert halls across the United States. In the early 1990s, she often toured by herself or with Canadian drummer Andy Stochansky.
Growing Fame in the 1990s
In 1995, DiFranco performed at a concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. The concert celebrated the opening of the Woody Guthrie Archives. She later released a CD of the concert called Til We Outnumber Em. It featured famous artists like Billy Bragg, Arlo Guthrie, Indigo Girls, and Bruce Springsteen. All the money from the CD went to the Woody Guthrie Foundation and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum.
In 1996, bassist Sara Lee joined her band. Their live performances were recorded for the 1997 album Living in Clip. In 1998, a new band was formed with Jason Mercer on bass, Julie Wolf on keyboards, and Daren Hahn on drums.
The 1990s were a big decade for DiFranco. She played in bigger venues all over the world and was featured in magazines like Spin and Ms.. She also appeared on TV channels like MTV and VH1. Her fun cover of the song "Wishin' and Hopin'" was in the movie My Best Friend's Wedding.
Music in the 21st Century
On September 11, 2001, DiFranco was in Manhattan during the attacks. She later wrote a poem about the experience called "Self Evident." The poem was included in several books, and she performed it on the HBO show Def Poetry in 2005.
Since 2005, her band has included bass player Todd Sickafoose and other talented musicians on drums and percussion. In 2007, she released Canon, a two-disc album with some of her best songs from her career.
In 2009, DiFranco performed at Pete Seeger's 90th birthday party at Madison Square Garden. She sang a new version of the old song "Which Side Are You On?" with Bruce Cockburn. In 2012, she released an album with the same title, which featured many other famous musicians.
In 2019, she released her life story, No Walls and the Recurring Dream. In 2021, she released the album Revolutionary Love, which was inspired by the book See No Stranger by Valarie Kaur.
Personal Life
DiFranco married her sound engineer, Andrew Gilchrist, in 1998. They later separated in 2003.
Her father passed away in 2004. In 2005, she developed tendinitis, a condition that affects the arms, and had to take a nine-month break from touring.
In 2007, DiFranco had her first child, a daughter. She married the child's father, Mike Napolitano, in 2009. He is also a music producer who has worked on her albums. In 2013, they had their second child, a son. The family has lived in the Bywater, New Orleans, neighborhood since 2008.
DiFranco has described herself as an atheist, meaning she does not believe in a god. However, she has said she sees the value of community and talking about ideas that religion can provide.
She has also spoken about learning from mistakes. In 2013, she planned a songwriting event at a former plantation. After people told her this was hurtful because of the location's history, she canceled the event. She said it was a "wake-up call" and that it's important to be accountable for your actions.
Music Style and Lyrics
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How Her Music Sounds
DiFranco has a unique guitar style. She often plays short, sharp notes, picks the strings very quickly, and uses many different ways to tune her guitar. She also delivers her lyrics in a way that sounds like talking but has a strong rhythm. Her lyrics are known for being clever and using word play.
While her music is often called folk rock or alternative rock, she mixes in many other styles. She has used punk, funk, hip-hop, and jazz in her songs. She has also used different instruments, like brass instruments on her album Little Plastic Castle and string instruments on Living in Clip.
DiFranco has said that "folk music" is not just about an acoustic guitar. To her, it is an attitude and a way for communities to share their stories and struggles.
Working with Other Artists
DiFranco has worked with many other artists. She had a close friendship with folk singer Utah Phillips. They made two albums together: The Past Didn't Go Anywhere (1996) and Fellow Workers (1999). On the first album, DiFranco created music to go with Phillips's storytelling.
The musician Prince recorded two songs with DiFranco in 1999. She has also worked with artists like Maceo Parker, Cyndi Lauper, and Lenine. In 2010, she played the part of the goddess Persephone on Anaïs Mitchell's album Hadestown.
What Her Songs Are About
Many of DiFranco's songs are about her own life, but they also deal with important social issues. She writes about topics like racism, sexism, poverty, and war.
Her focus on both personal and political topics made her popular with college students in the 1990s. Her fame grew through word of mouth instead of through mainstream radio or TV.
Running Her Own Label
DiFranco started her own record label, Righteous Babe Records, because she did not want big companies to control her music. This freedom has allowed her to be very creative. For example, for her 2004 album Educated Guess, she played all the instruments, sang all the vocals, and recorded it herself at home.
She has talked about the importance of being independent in her songs. The label is based in her hometown of Buffalo and employs several people.
Activism and Charity Work
DiFranco has always used her fame to support social movements. In 1999, she started the Righteous Babe Foundation, a non-profit group that gives money to organizations working for positive change.
She has supported the anti-war movement and has been against the death penalty for a long time. In 2004, she visited the country of Burma (now Myanmar) to learn about its fight for democracy.
During the 2004 U.S. presidential election, she toured through important states to encourage people to vote. In 2005, she helped raise over $47,500 for the Katrina Piano Fund. This fund helped musicians in New Orleans replace instruments they lost in Hurricane Katrina.
In her hometown of Buffalo, she and her manager bought an old church that was going to be torn down. They restored it, and in 2006 it opened as "Babeville," a space with two concert halls and offices.
For her work, DiFranco has received many awards. In 2006, she received the Woman of Courage Award from the National Organization for Women. In 2009, she received the Woody Guthrie Award for using her music to create positive social change. In October 2023, she signed a letter asking for a ceasefire in the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.
Discography
Studio albums
- Ani DiFranco (1990)
- Not So Soft (1991)
- Imperfectly (1992)
- Puddle Dive (1993)
- Out of Range (1994)
- Not a Pretty Girl (1995)
- Dilate (1996)
- Little Plastic Castle (1998)
- Up Up Up Up Up Up (1999)
- To the Teeth (1999)
- Revelling/Reckoning (2001)
- Evolve (2003)
- Educated Guess (2004)
- Knuckle Down (2005)
- Reprieve (2006)
- Red Letter Year (2008)
- ¿Which Side Are You On? (2012)
- Allergic to Water (2014)
- Binary (2017)
- Revolutionary Love (2021)
- Unprecedented Sh!t (2024)
with Utah Phillips
- The Past Didn't Go Anywhere (1996)
- Fellow Workers (1999)
Live albums
- 1994 – An Acoustic Evening With
- 1997 – Living in Clip
- 2002 – So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter
- 2004 – Atlanta – 10.9.03
- 2006 – Carnegie Hall – 4.6.02
EPs
- 1996 – More Joy, Less Shame
- 2000 – Swing Set
- 2016 – Play God
See also
In Spanish: Ani DiFranco para niños
