Singer/songwriter/feminist/activist/author Ani DiFranco is gearing up for a round of fall tour dates, beginning September 8 in Viroqua, WI. A full list of dates are below and, on her website, HERE.
For the tour, DiFranco has tapped Nashville artist Kristen Ford to open. Ford has just signed to DiFranco’s label Righteous Babe Records, and today releases her single “White Man’s Dream.” Ford’s song is a call to action, for women to change the rules of the patriarchal game and demand their freedom, autonomy, expression and joy. Listen to the song HERE, and for more info on Kristin Ford go HERE.
Ani met Ford at a show in Provincetown in 2022 and quickly became a fan. They recorded the track in New Orleans, with Ani on bass and production duties, directing Ford through lead guitar parts and vocal lines, as Ford called on the spirit of Prince, moving from lead guitar to drum set to harmonies and beatboxing. About Ford, DiFranco notes, “Kristen has a spark that ignites things around her – a passion and a mission and the energy to see it through. I look forward to introducing her to my audience, on this tour and with the upcoming album.” Ford says, “To be signed to a label that has been around just about as long as me, run by a badass troublemaker, and to be writing songs with my hero and making recordings sculpted by her ears hands and heart – I know together we will do great things.”
The fall tour follows the 25th Anniversary reissue of her seminal album Little Plastic Castle with the first vinyl edition, available now on DiFranco’s label Righteous Babe Records. The new edition is remastered by Heba Kadry, with the addition of three bonus bed tracks mixed by Tchad Blake, and a new CD package and first-time release on vinyl (2 LPs). Order Little Plastic Castle HERE.
Widely considered a feminist icon, Grammy winner Ani DiFranco is the mother of the DIY movement, being one of the first artists to create her own record label in 1990. While she has been known as the “Little Folksinger,” her music has embraced punk, funk, hip hop, jazz, soul, electronica and even more distant sounds. Her collaborators have included everyone from Utah Phillips to legendary R&B saxophonist Maceo Parker to Prince. She has shared stages with Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger, Kris Kristofferson, Bon Iver, Brandi Carlile, Billy Bragg, Michael Franti, Chuck D., and many more. Her most recent albums include 2021’s Revolutionary Love and the June 2023 25th Anniversary Edition reissue of her seminal album Little Plastic Castle, both on her own label Righteous Babe Records. Her memoir No Walls and the Recurring Dream was released in May 2019 by Viking Books and was a New York Times Top 10 best seller. Her debut children’s book The Knowing is out now.
ANI DIFRANCO TOUR DATES
FALL 2023
9/8 – Viroqua, WI – Historic Temple Theatre* – SOLD OUT
9/9 – Urbana, IL – ELLNORA/The Guitar Festival
9/10 – Iowa City, IA – Englert Theatre*
9/12 – Eau Claire, WI – RCU Theatre*
9/13 – Columbia, MO – The Blue Note*
9/15 – Chicago, IL – Riot Fest
9/16 – Columbus, OH – KEMBA Live!*
9/17 – Hammondsport, NY – Pavilion at Point of the Bluff Vineyards*
9/19 – Waterville, ME – Waterville Opera House*
9/20 – Burlington, VT – The Flynn* – SOLD OUT
9/22 – Tarrytown, NY – Tarrytown Music Hall* – SOLD OUT
9/23 – New York, NY – (le) poisson rouge* – SOLD OUT
9/24 – Beverly, MA – The Cabot* – SOLD OUT
*with special guest Kristen Ford