Editing Ani DiFranco (section)

==Career==

DiFranco started her own record company, [[Righteous Babe Records]], in 1989 at age 19.<ref name="MilwaukeeJS2006"/> She released her [[Ani DiFranco (album)|self-titled debut album]] in the winter of 1990, shortly after relocating to New York City. There, she took poetry classes at [[The New School]], where she met poet [[Sekou Sundiata]], who was to become a friend and mentor. She toured steadily for the next 15 years, pausing only to record albums. Appearances at Canadian folk festivals and increasingly larger venues in the U.S. reflected her increasing popularity on the North American folk and roots scene. Throughout the early and mid-1990s DiFranco toured solo and also as a duo with Canadian drummer [[Andy Stochansky]].{{cn|date=April 2024}}

In September 1995, DiFranco participated in a concert at the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in Cleveland Ohio, inaugurating the opening of the [[Woody Guthrie]] Archives in New York City. She later released a CD on Righteous Babe of the concert ''Til We Outnumber Em'' featuring artists such as DiFranco, [[Billy Bragg]], [[Ramblin' Jack Elliott]], [[Arlo Guthrie]], [[Indigo Girls]], [[Dave Pirner]], [[Tim Robbins]], and [[Bruce Springsteen]] with 100 percent of proceeds going to the Woody Guthrie Foundation and Archives and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum educational department.<ref>Robicheau, Paul. Ellis Paul's got Woody Guthrie under his skin. Boston Globe, September 20, 1996.</ref>

In 1996, bassist [[Sara Lee (musician)|Sara Lee]] joined the touring group, whose live rapport is showcased on the 1997 album ''[[Living in Clip]]''. DiFranco would later release Lee's solo album ''Make It Beautiful'' on Righteous Babe. In 1998, Stochansky left to pursue a solo career as a singer-songwriter. A new touring ensemble consisting of Jason Mercer on bass, Julie Wolf on keyboards, and Daren Hahn on drums, augmented at times by a horn section, accompanied DiFranco on tour between 1998 and 2002.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lankford|first=Ronnie Jr.|title=review, So Much Shouting|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/so-much-shouting-so-much-laughter-mw0000227692|website=AllMusic|access-date=July 29, 2013}}</ref>

The 1990s were a period of heightened exposure for DiFranco, as she continued playing ever larger venues around the world and attracted international attention of the press, including cover stories in ''Spin'', ''Ms.'', and ''Magnet'', among others,<ref>{{cite web |last=Righteous Babe |author-link=Righteous Babe |title=covers gallery |url=http://righteousbabe.myshopify.com/products/cover-shots |website=Righteous Babe |access-date=July 29, 2013}}</ref> as well as appearances on MTV and VH1. Her playfully ironic cover of the Bacharach/David song "[[Wishin' and Hopin']]" appeared under the opening titles of the film ''[[My Best Friend's Wedding]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|title=review|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/my-best-friends-wedding-original-soundtrack-mw0000023914|work=my best friends wedding soundtrack|access-date=July 29, 2013}}</ref>
She guest starred on a 1998 episode of the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] sitcom ''[[King of the Hill]]'', as the voice of [[Peggy Hill|Peggy]]'s feminist guitar teacher, Emily.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/151761/ani-difranco-does-king-of-the-hill/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116135956/http://www.mtv.com/news/151761/ani-difranco-does-king-of-the-hill/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 16, 2018|title=Ani DiFranco Does 'King of The Hill'|website=MTV News|date=May 1, 1998}}</ref>
Beginning in 1999, Righteous Babe Records began releasing albums by other artists including Sara Lee, [[Sekou Sundiata]], [[Arto Lindsay]], [[Bitch and Animal]], [[That One Guy]], [[Utah Phillips]], [[Hamell on Trial]], [[Andrew Bird]], [[Kurt Swinghammer]], [[Buddy Wakefield]], [[Anaïs Mitchell]] and [[Nona Hendryx]].{{cn|date=April 2024}}

On September 11, 2001, DiFranco was in Manhattan and later penned the poem "Self Evident" about the experience. The poem was featured in the book ''It's a Free Country: Personal Freedom in America After September 11''. The poem's title also became the name of DiFranco's first book of poetry released exclusively in Italy by Minimum Fax. It was later also featured in ''Verses'', a book of her poetry published in the U.S. by Seven Stories press.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ani|first=DiFranco|title=Verses|year=2007|publisher=Seven Stories Press|location=New York, NY|isbn=9781583228234|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ho9r6AGkZfMC&q=sekou+sundiata+and+ani+difranco&pg=PA90}}</ref> DiFranco has written and performed many spoken-word pieces throughout her career and was showcased as a poet on the HBO series ''Def Poetry'' in 2005.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.righteousbabe.com/blogs/news/6238300-ani-to-appear-on-russell-simmons-presents-def-poetry-on-august-29th|title=Ani to Appear on Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry on August 29th. – righteousbabe|website=righteousbabe.com |date=July 5, 2012 |access-date=July 21, 2018}}</ref>

Since her 2005 release ''Knuckle Down'' (co-produced by Joe Henry) DiFranco's touring band and recordings have featured bass player [[Todd Sickafoose]] and in turns other musicians such as [[Allison Miller (drummer)|Allison Miller]], Andy Borger, Herlin Riley, and Terence Higgins on drums and [[Mike Dillon (musician)|Mike Dillon]] on percussion and vibes.{{cn|date=April 2024}} On September 11, 2007, she released the first retrospective of her career, a two-disc compilation entitled ''[[Canon (album)|Canon]]'' and simultaneously a retrospective collection of poetry book ''Verses''. On September 30, 2008, she released ''[[Red Letter Year]]''.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

[[File:Ani difranco 2008-01-17.jpg|thumb|DiFranco performing in 2008]]

In 2009, DiFranco appeared at [[Pete Seeger]]'s 90th birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden, debuting her revamped version of the 1930s labor anthem "[[Which Side Are You On?]]" in a duet with [[Bruce Cockburn]] and also duetting with [[Kris Kristofferson]] on the folk classic "There's a Hole in the Bucket".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Himes|first=Geoffrey|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2012/01/ani-difranco-asking-all-the-questions.html|title=Ani DiFranco: Asking All The Questions|date=January 13, 2012|website=Paste|language=en|access-date=December 31, 2019}}</ref> DiFranco released an album on January 17, 2012, ''[[¿Which Side Are You On?]]''. It includes collaborations with [[Pete Seeger]], [[Ivan Neville]], [[Cyril Neville]], [[Skerik]], [[Adam Levy (musician)|Adam Levy]], Righteous Babe recording artist [[Anaïs Mitchell]], [[CC Adcock]], and a host of New Orleans–based horn players known for their work in such outfits as [[Galactic]], [[Bonerama]], and [[Rebirth Brass Band]].{{cn|date=April 2024}} In 2014, she released her eighteenth album, ''[[Allergic to Water]]''. In 2017, she released her nineteenth, ''[[Binary (Ani DiFranco album)|Binary]]''.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

On May 7, 2019, DiFranco released a memoir, ''No Walls and the Recurring Dream'', via [[Viking Books]]. It is described as a "coming-of-age story".<ref name="RSmemoir">{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ani-difranco-memoir-no-wall-recurring-dream-753682/|title=Ani DiFranco Details Memoir, 'No Walls and the Recurring Dream'|last1=Grow|first1=Kory|date=November 8, 2018|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=April 3, 2019}}</ref> In 2021, DiFranco released the album ''[[Revolutionary Love (album)|Revolutionary Love]]'' which was largely inspired by [[Valarie Kaur]]'s book ''See No Stranger.''<ref>{{Cite web|last=Shahen|first=Jim|date=January 21, 2021|title=Compassion Guides Ani DiFranco's Fight on 'Revolutionary Love'|url=https://www.nodepression.com/album-reviews/compassion-guides-ani-difrancos-fight-on-revolutionary-love/|access-date=February 1, 2021|website=[[No Depression (magazine)|No Depression]]}}</ref>

[[File:Ani DiFranco The New Yorker.jpg|thumb|Ani DiFranco, [[RZA]], and [[Steve Albini]] at ''The New Yorker'' festival in September 2005.]]