The Little Folk Singer

In 1996, while working at a now-defunct music store in downtown St. Johnsbury, Vt., I got my hands on a catalog sampler from Righteous Babe Records showcasing Ani DiFranco. With zero sense of what was in the collection, what type of music it even was, or who Ani was, I popped into the stereo system for the entire store and let it roll. To be fair, it’s not the sort of stereo-selling music you might imagine, but I was utterly hooked. The little folksinger—as she was charmingly referred to often in those days—had locked into some part of me.

A month or two later, I was at the first of many Ani concerts, this one at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, with the inimitable and delightful Dan Bern opening. I had no idea who Dan was either, but that sparked a lifelong love of his music as well.

In September of 2023, after quite a long hiatus, we had the chance to see Ani perform in Burlington at The Flynn, and she was… simply amazing. Her energy, her grace, her intensity, and her joy—she is a joyful girl. Her opener, Kristen Ford, was a revelation—power, electricity, pointed—and their duet at the end of the show was a thing of raw beauty.

Grateful to have Ani out there still, making that joyful noise, and glad to have another opportunity to hear The Little Folksinger in person.