Editing Ani DiFranco

{{Short description|American musician (born 1970)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| background      = person
| name            = Ani DiFranco
| image           = Ani Difranco Ancienne Belgique.jpg
| alt             = Ani Difranco standing onstage, playing an acoustic guitar
| caption         = DiFranco performing in 2007
| image_size      =
| birth_name      = Angela Maria DiFranco
| alias           =
| birth_date      = {{birth date and age|1970|09|23}}
| birth_place     = [[Buffalo, New York]], US
| origin          =
| instrument      = {{flatlist|
* Guitar
* vocals
}}
| genre           = {{flatlist|
* [[Folk rock]]
* [[alternative rock]]
* [[punk rock]]
* [[indie folk]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.capitalgazette.com/entertainment/ph-ac-cn-ani-difranco-0618-20160621-story.html|title=Folk singer Ani DiFranco brings music and politics to Annapolis|first=Cindy|last=Huang|website=capitalgazette.com|date=June 21, 2016 }}</ref>
}}
| occupation      = {{flatlist|
* Musician
* singer-songwriter
* poet
}}
| discography     = [[Ani DiFranco discography]]
| years_active    = 1989–present
| label           = [[Righteous Babe Records|Righteous Babe]]
| website         = {{official URL}}
}}

'''Angela Maria''' "'''Ani'''" '''DiFranco'''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.biography.com/people/ani-difranco-20874409 |title=Ani DiFranco Biography |website=Biography.com |date=April 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180924112640/https://www.biography.com/people/ani-difranco-20874409 |access-date=|archive-date=September 24, 2018 }}</ref> ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɑː|n|iː}}; born September 23, 1970) is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Joseph|first=Alli|url=https://www.salon.com/2017/07/05/listen-ani-difrancos-path-away-from-patriarchy/|title=LISTEN: Ani DiFranco's path away from patriarchy|website=Salon|access-date=October 16, 2017|date=July 5, 2017}}</ref> She has released more than 20 albums.<ref name="MilwaukeeJS2006">{{cite news|title=DiFranco makes time for radical sabbatical: Indie rocker records new album and prepares for motherhood |first=Gene |last=Stout |newspaper=The [[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]] |date=August 21, 2006 |url=http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=486202 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070513171703/http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=486202 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 13, 2007 |access-date=January 2, 2008 }}</ref><ref name="DailyTexan2002">
{{cite news|title=Sound Bites |newspaper=[[Daily Texan]] |date=September 17, 2002 |access-date=January 2, 2008
|url=http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2002/09/17/Entertainment/Sound.Bites-499123.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080610055152/http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2002/09/17/Entertainment/Sound.Bites-499123.shtml |archive-date=June 10, 2008 }}</ref><ref name="Salon">{{cite news|title=Mother Who Think: Hey hey, ho ho, the matriarchy's got to go |first=Lori |last=Leibovich |work=[[Salon.com|Salon]] |date=March 27, 1998 |access-date=January 2, 2008 |url=http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/1998/03/27feature.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307111341/http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/1998/03/27feature.html |archive-date=March 7, 2008 }}</ref><ref name="Newsbank">{{cite news| title = Fame hasn't changed the way DiFranco works: Independently| newspaper = The [[Sacramento Bee]]| date = April 14, 2000| access-date = January 2, 2008| url = http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SB&p_theme=sb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB047DB661B7CA7&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM| archive-date = November 22, 2022| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221122130209/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SB&p_theme=sb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB047DB661B7CA7&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM| url-status = dead}}</ref> DiFranco's music has been classified as [[folk rock]] and [[alternative rock]], although it has additional influences from [[punk rock|punk]], [[funk]], [[hip hop music|hip hop]] and [[jazz]]. She has released all her albums on her own record label, [[Righteous Babe]].

DiFranco supports many social and political movements by performing benefit concerts, appearing on benefit albums and speaking at rallies. Through the Righteous Babe Foundation, DiFranco has backed grassroots cultural and political organizations supporting causes including [[abortion rights]] and [[LGBT]] visibility. She counts American folk singer and songwriter [[Pete Seeger]] among her mentors.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/01/28/ani-difranco-things-pete-seeger-taught-me/|title=Ani DiFranco: Things Pete Seeger Taught Me|last=DiFranco|first=Ani|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=January 18, 2017|date=January 28, 2014}}</ref>

DiFranco released a memoir, ''No Walls and the Recurring Dream'', on May 7, 2019, via [[Viking Books]]<ref name="RSmemoir" /> and made [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''The New York Times'' Best Seller list]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Hardcover Nonfiction Books – Best Sellers – Books – May 26, 2019 – ''The New York Times'' |work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2019/05/26/hardcover-nonfiction/ |access-date=May 13, 2021}}</ref>

On February 9, 2024, DiFranco made her [[Broadway (theatre)|Broadway]] debut in ''[[Hadestown]]'' as [[Persephone]], reprising the role she played in the [[Hadestown (album)|concept album of the same name]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gans|first=Andrew|url=https://www.playbill.com/article/grammy-winner-ani-difranco-to-make-broadway-debut-in-hadestown|title=Grammy Winner Ani DiFranco to Make Broadway Debut in Hadestown |website=Playbill.com |access-date=September 23, 2024|date=November 21, 2023}}</ref>

==Early life and education==

DiFranco was born in [[Buffalo, New York]],<ref>[http://celebritybabynamesblog.com/2007/01/24/baby-girl-for-rock-musician-ani-difranco/] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224094142/http://celebritybabynamesblog.com/2007/01/24/baby-girl-for-rock-musician-ani-difranco/|date=February 24, 2012}}</ref> on September 23, 1970, the daughter of Elizabeth (Ross) and Dante Americo DiFranco, who had met while attending the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Dante Americo DiFranco |url=http://www.righteousbabe.com/ani/dante/index.asp |website=righteousbabe.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224222447/http://www.righteousbabe.com/ani/dante/index.asp |archive-date=February 24, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BN&p_theme=bn&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=1041E247A98F4F42&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |title=News Archives: The Buffalo News |website=Nl.newsbank.com |date=July 26, 2004 |access-date=December 4, 2013 |archive-date=December 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211131120/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BN&p_theme=bn&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=1041E247A98F4F42&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |url-status=dead }}</ref> Her father was of Italian descent, and her mother was from Montreal.<ref>{{cite web|last=Keith |first=Elizabeth |url=http://www.musicvice.com/reviews/ani_difranco_montreal_november_2008.html |title=Ani DiFranco at Metropolis, Montreal -concert review |website=Music Vice |access-date=December 4, 2013 |date=November 25, 2008}}</ref> DiFranco started playing [[The Beatles|Beatles]] covers at local bars and [[busking]] with her guitar teacher, Michael Meldrum,<ref>{{cite web |title=Michael Meldrum: Open Ended Question |url=http://www.righteousbabe.com/store/prod_albums.asp?id=473 |website=righteousbabe.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090708233831/http://www.righteousbabe.com/store/prod_albums.asp?id=473 |archive-date=July 8, 2009}}</ref> at the age of nine. By 14 she was writing her own songs. She played them at bars and coffee houses throughout her teens. DiFranco graduated from the [[Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts]] high school at 16 and began attending classes at [[Buffalo State College]]. She was living by herself, having moved out of her mother's apartment after she became an [[emancipated minor]] when she was 15.<ref>{{cite web|last=Cassidy|first=Benjamin|url= https://www.berkshireeagle.com/archives/ani-difranco-rises-up-like-she-always-has/article_fb849c77-cbbe-5c66-8fc1-634297830f98.html|title= Ani DiFranco rises up, like she always has|website=Berkshireeagle.com|date= June 15, 2018}}</ref>

==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.]]

==Personal life==

DiFranco came out as [[bisexual]] in her twenties,<ref>{{cite web |last=Scott Marti |first=Kris |title=Ani DiFranco, Folksinger and Entrepreneur |url=http://www.afterellen.com/archive/ellen/Music/112004/anidifranco.html |website=AfterEllen.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110826082336/http://www.afterellen.com/archive/ellen/Music/112004/anidifranco.html |archive-date=August 26, 2011 |date=November 28, 2004}}</ref> and has written songs about love and sex with women and men. She addressed the controversy about her sexuality in the song "In or Out" on the album ''[[Imperfectly]]'' (1992). However, in 2015 she told the blog GoPride.com that she was "not so queer anymore, but definitely a woman-centered woman and just a human rights-centered artist."<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Bendix |first=Trish |date=2017-10-10 |title=Ani DiFranco Is Trying to Learn |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/ani-difranco-is-trying-to-learn/ |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Vice |language=en}}</ref> In a 2019 interview with [[Jezebel (website)|''Jezebel'']], she stated that she preferred the term "queer" because "bisexual" "always sounded very medical, like something you do to a frog in 9th grade science or something", and further added that "the irony is I'm pretty fuckin' [[Heterosexuality|hetero]], which is unfortunate for me because many of my deepest connections are with women. But, naw, I just like what's in boys' pants better."<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Juzwiak |first=Rich |date=May 1, 2019 |title=Ani DiFranco Is Tired of Talking About Herself (So Here She Goes Again) |url=https://jezebel.com/ani-difranco-is-tired-of-talking-about-herself-so-here-1834252022 |access-date=September 13, 2022 |website=Jezebel |language=en-us}}</ref> In 1998, she married her sound engineer Andrew Gilchrist<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1428075/ani-difranco-weds-hits-studio/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160410181619/http://www.mtv.com/news/1428075/ani-difranco-weds-hits-studio/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 10, 2016|title=Ani DiFranco Weds, Hits Studio|date=June 2, 1998|website=MTV News|access-date=October 4, 2018}}</ref> in a [[Unitarian Universalist]] service in Canada. DiFranco and Gilchrist divorced in 2003.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Varga|first1=George|title=Ani DiFranco sings and marches on|url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/music/sdut-ani-di-franco-moves-through-controversy-2015mar13-story.html|website=The San Diego Union-Tribune|date=March 13, 2015|access-date=April 13, 2018}}</ref>

In 1990, she wrote "Lost Woman Song", inspired by abortions she had at ages eighteen and twenty.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thesunmagazine.org/issues/485/righteous-babe|title=Righteous Babe: Ani DiFranco On Music, Politics, And Staying Independent|last=Leviton|first=Mark|website=Thesunmagazine.org|date=May 2016|access-date=May 22, 2019}}</ref>

DiFranco's father died in the summer of 2004.<ref>{{cite web |title=Reprieve |url=https://www.righteousbabe.com/ani/reprieve/reviews.asp |website=righteousbabe.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525131421/https://www.righteousbabe.com/ani/reprieve/reviews.asp |archive-date=May 25, 2012}}</ref> In July 2005, DiFranco developed [[tendinitis]] and took a nine-month hiatus from touring. In January 2007 DiFranco gave birth to her first child, a daughter,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dowd |first1=Kathy Ehrich |title=Singer Ani DiFranco Welcomes a Daughter |url=https://people.com/celebrity/singer-ani-difranco-welcomes-a-daughter/ |website=People.com |access-date=November 5, 2019 |date=January 23, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://people.com/parents/introducing-pet/|title= Introducing Petah Lucia DiFranco Napolitano|website=People|date=July 3, 2007|access-date=April 17, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191105050626/https://people.com/parents/introducing-pet/|archive-date=November 5, 2019}}</ref> at her Buffalo home. She married the child's father, Mike Napolitano, also her regular producer, in 2009. In an interview on September 13, 2012, DiFranco mentioned that she was pregnant with her second child.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Phenicie |first1=Courtney |title=Ani DiFranco :: Interview |url=https://cincymusic.com/blog/2012/09/ani-difranco-interview |website=CincyMusic |access-date=September 13, 2012 |date=September 13, 2012}}</ref> In April 2013, she gave birth to her second child, a son.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Young |first1=Quentin |title=Being a mom isn't slowing Ani DeFranco |url=https://secondstorygarage.com/being-a-mom-isnt-slowing-ani-defranco/ |website=Second Story Garage |access-date=November 5, 2019 |date=March 27, 2015}}</ref>

She has resided in the [[Bywater, New Orleans]], neighborhood since 2008.<ref name="New Orleans">{{cite news|title=Sense of Place: Ani DiFranco's Fresh Perspective On New Orleans|newspaper = NPR.org|url=https://www.npr.org/2012/06/13/154873409/sense-of-place-ani-difrancos-fresh-perspective-on-new-orleans|access-date=June 15, 2012|date=June 13, 2012}}</ref>

DiFranco signed the October 2023 [[Artists4Ceasefire]] open letter to Joe Biden calling for a ceasefire during the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Artists4Ceasefire |url=https://www.artists4ceasefire.org/ |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=Artists4Ceasefire |language=en-US}}</ref>

She has described herself as an [[atheist]]. On the subject of religion, DiFranco has stated:<ref>{{cite news| first =Matthew| last =Rothschild| title =Ani DiFranco – folk singer – Interview| work =The Progressive|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1295/is_5_64/ai_61963258/pg_5| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928190531/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1295/is_5_64/ai_61963258/pg_5| url-status =dead| archive-date =September 28, 2008| date = May 9, 2000| access-date = April 10, 2008}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Well, I'm not a religious person myself. I'm an atheist. I think religion serves a lot of different purposes in people's lives, and I can recognize the value of that, you know, the value of ceremony, the value of community, or even just having a forum to get together and talk about ideas, about morals – that's a cool concept. But then, of course, institutional religions are so problematic.}}

DiFranco has spoken critically of [[cancel culture]], saying it is "just gonna get us nowhere" and "The human family can't divorce each other".<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sernaker |first=Emily |date=April 16, 2021 |title=The Ms. Q&A With Ani DiFranco: "You Have License To Be All the Aspects of Yourself and To Be Unashamed of Them" |url=https://msmagazine.com/2021/04/16/ani-difranco-righteous-babe-records-feminism-music-revolutionary-love/ |access-date=September 13, 2022 |website=Ms. Magazine}}</ref> DiFranco herself has received criticism for planning a 2013 songwriting retreat at [[Nottoway Plantation|Nottoway]], a former slave plantation.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" /> She cancelled the retreat three days after the news broke, writing on her website, "I needed a wake-up call and you gave it to me." In a 2019 interview, she said of her choices at the time, "I should have found the ultimate humility to put down my own hurt, and all of the misconceptions or mis-truths out there. You have to make yourself accountable. There's a greater pain that's bigger than me, and it's more important."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Barlow |first1=Eve |title=Ani DiFranco: 'I'm sorry if I'm not what you need me to be' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/may/17/ani-difranco-im-sorry-if-im-not-what-you-need-me-to-be |access-date=4 November 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=May 17, 2019}}</ref>

She wrote in her memoir that she "[sympathized] with both sides" regarding the controversial [[Feminist views on transgender topics|trans-exclusionary]] policies of the [[Michigan Womyn's Music Festival]]. In a 2019 interview, she elaborated on this statement, discussing her perception that cisgender women were being "asked again ... to move over and make room for somebody else," and later expressed that she understood the difficulty "for anybody outside of a very specific group to experience it the way that group does," saying that "maybe [women's spaces] should be a little more [inclusive]".<ref name=":3" />

DiFranco is the subject of the 2024 documentary film ''[[1-800-On-Her-Own]]''.<ref> https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/18/movies/ani-difranco-1-800-on-her-own.html</ref>

==Critical reception==

DiFranco has been a critical success for much of her career, with a career album average of 55 on [[Metacritic]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/person/ani-difranco |title=Ani DiFranco Profile |website=Metacritic.com |access-date=April 19, 2014}}</ref> ''Living in Clip'', DiFranco's 1998 double live album, is the only one to achieve gold record status to date. DiFranco was praised by ''[[The Buffalo News]]'' in 2006 as "Buffalo's leading lady of rock music".<ref name="Hearey">{{cite news|last=Hearey|first=Owen|url=https://buffalonews.com/news/righteous-babe-announces-she-is-pregnant-difranco-honored-at-now-convention/article_97c6573e-0650-5953-b9b4-bc2f787b8ba0.html |title='Righteous Babe' announces she is pregnant DiFranco honored at NOW convention |newspaper=The Buffalo News |date=July 22, 2006 |access-date=September 30, 2024}}</ref>

Starting in 2003, DiFranco was nominated four consecutive times for [[Grammy Award for Best Recording Package|Best Recording Package]] at the [[Grammy Awards]], winning in [[46th Grammy Awards|2004]] for ''[[Evolve (Ani DiFranco album)|Evolve]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Store {{ndash}} Ani DiFranco: Evolve|url=http://www.righteousbabe.com/products/evolve|website=Righteous Babe Records|access-date=March 15, 2015}}</ref>

==Music==

===Style===

DiFranco's guitar playing is often characterized by a signature [[staccato]] style,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://folkmusic.about.com/od/artistsaz/p/AniD_profile.htm |title=Facts about Ani |website=Folkmusic.about.com |date=November 14, 2013 |access-date=December 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019093248/http://folkmusic.about.com/od/artistsaz/p/AniD_profile.htm |archive-date=October 19, 2013 |url-status=dead  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.westnet.com/consumable/1997/06.11/revani.html |title=Ani DiFranco, Living in Clip by Jon Steltenpohl |work=Consumable Online |access-date=December 4, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211034955/http://www.westnet.com/consumable/1997/06.11/revani.html |archive-date=December 11, 2013 }}</ref> rapid [[fingerpicking]] and many alternate tunings. She delivers many of her lines in a speaking style notable for its rhythmic variation. Her lyrics, which often include [[alliteration]], [[metaphor]], [[word play]] and a more or less gentle [[irony]], have also received praise for their sophistication.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ani DiFranco {{!}} Lyrics, Song Meanings & Music Videos |url=https://sonichits.com/artist/Ani_DiFranco |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=SonicHits}}</ref>

[[File:Ani Difranco-32 (48523972877).jpg|thumb|DiFranco in concert, 2019]]

Although DiFranco's music has been classified as both [[folk rock]] and [[alternative rock]], she has reached across genres since her earliest albums incorporating first punk, then funk, hiphop, and jazz influences.

While primarily an acoustic guitarist she has used a variety of [[musical instrument|instruments]] and styles: [[brass instrument]]ation was prevalent in 1998's ''[[Little Plastic Castle]]''; a simple [[walking bass]] in her 1997 cover of [[Hal David]] and [[Burt Bacharach]]'s "[[Wishin' and Hopin']]{{-"}}; [[string instrument|strings]] on the 1997 live album ''[[Living in Clip]]'' and 2004's ''[[Knuckle Down]]''; and electronics and synthesizers in 1999's ''To the Teeth'' and 2006's ''[[Reprieve (album)|Reprieve]]''.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

DiFranco has stated that "folk music is not an acoustic guitar&nbsp;– that's not where the heart of it is. I use the word 'folk' in reference to [[Punk rock|punk music]] and [[Hip hop music|rap music]]. It's an attitude, it's an awareness of one's heritage, and it's a community. It's subcorporate music that gives voice to different communities and their struggle against authority."<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://www.jeffreypepperrodgers.com/difranco.htm |title=Ani DiFranco and Utah Phillips article |website=Jeffreypepperrodgers.com |access-date=April 17, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140130090622/http://jeffreypepperrodgers.com/difranco.htm |archive-date=January 30, 2014 }}</ref>

===Musical collaborations, cover versions, and samples===

DiFranco has collaborated with a wide range of artists. In 1997, she appeared on Canadian songwriter [[Bruce Cockburn]]'s ''Charity of Night'' album. In 1998, she produced fellow folksinger [[Dan Bern]]'s album ''[[Fifty Eggs]]''.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

She developed a deep association with folksinger and social activist [[Utah Phillips]] throughout the mid-1990s, sharing her stage and her audience with the older musician until his death in 2008 and resulting in two collaborative albums: ''[[The Past Didn't Go Anywhere]]'' (1996) and ''[[Fellow Workers]]'' (1999, with liner notes by [[Howard Zinn]]).<ref>{{cite web|last=Zinn|first=Howard|title=Fellow Workers Liner Notes|date=February 22, 2013 |url=http://zinnedproject.org/materials/fellow-workers-liner-notes-by-howard-zinn/|publisher=Zinn Education Project|access-date=July 31, 2013}}</ref> ''The Past'' is built around Phillips's storytelling, an important part of his art that had not previously been documented on recordings; on the album, DiFranco provides musical settings for his speaking voice.<ref name=":0" /> The followup, ''Fellow Workers'', was recorded live in [[Daniel Lanois]]'s Kingsway Studio in New Orleans and features Phillips fronting DiFranco's touring band for a collection of songs and stories.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

[[Prince (musician)|Prince]] recorded two songs with DiFranco in 1999, "Providence" on her ''To the Teeth'' album, and "Eye Love U, But Eye Don't Trust U Anymore" on Prince's ''[[Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic]]'' album.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://princetext.tripod.com/i_startrib99.html |title=Prince in Print |website=Princetext.tripod.com |access-date=December 4, 2013}}</ref> Funk and soul jazz musician [[Maceo Parker]] and rapper Corey Parker have both appeared on DiFranco's albums<ref>{{cite web|title=To The Teeth, album|url=http://www.righteousbabe.com/products/to-the-teeth|website=Righteous Babe|access-date=August 2, 2013}}</ref> and featured appearances by her on theirs. Parker and DiFranco toured together in 1999.

She has appeared on several compilations of the songs of [[Pete Seeger]] and frequented his [[Clearwater Festival|Hudson Clearwater Revival Festival]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Toshi Reagon and Ani DiFranco|url=http://vimeo.com/64338104|work=Vimeo, video gallery|publisher=Hudson River Sloop Clearwater|access-date=August 2, 2013}}</ref> In 2001, she appeared on Brazilian artist [[Lenine (musician)|Lenine]]'s album ''Falange Canibal''. In 2002, her rendition of [[Greg Brown (folk musician)|Greg Brown]]'s "The Poet Game" appeared on ''Going Driftless: An Artist's Tribute to Greg Brown''. Also in 2002 she recorded a duet with [[Jackie Chan]] of the [[Irving Gordon]] song "[[Unforgettable (Irving Gordon song)|Unforgettable]]" for a record of unlikely collaborations, ''When Pigs Fly: Songs You Never Thought You'd Hear''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ani DiFranco & Jackie Chan – "Unforgettable" (Nat King Cole Cover)|url=http://quitmumbling.com/2011/04/uncovered-ani-difranco-jackie-chan-unforgettable-nat-king-cole/|website=Quit Mumbling|access-date=August 2, 2013|archive-date=October 19, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019085200/http://quitmumbling.com/2011/04/uncovered-ani-difranco-jackie-chan-unforgettable-nat-king-cole/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2005, she appeared on [[Dar Williams]]' record ''My Better Self'', duetting on William's cover of [[Pink Floyd]]'s "Comfortably Numb". She performed with [[Cyndi Lauper]] on "Sisters of Avalon" a track from Lauper's 2005 ''[[The Body Acoustic]]'' album. In 2006, she produced [[Hamell on Trial]]'s album ''Songs for Parents Who Enjoy Drugs''. In 2008, she appeared on [[Todd Sickafoose]]'s album ''Tiny Resisters''. In 2010, she co-produced a track with [[Margaret Cho]] called "Captain Cameltoe" for the comedian's ''Cho Dependant'' album. In 2011, she appeared on [[Rob Wasserman]]'s album ''Note of Hope'', an exploration of the writings of [[Woody Guthrie]] with musical accompaniment, though the track in which she appeared, "Voice", was actually recorded 13 years earlier. Also in 2011 she duetted with [[Greg Dulli]] on the [[Twilight Singers]] record ''Dynamite Steps''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ani DiFranco credits|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/ani-difranco-mn0000046794/credits|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=August 2, 2013}}</ref>

Other artists have covered and sampled DiFranco's work throughout the years. Her spoken word poem "Self Evident" was covered by [[Public Enemy (group)|Public Enemy]] founder [[Chuck D]]'s group called Impossebulls. [[Alana Davis]] had some commercial success with DiFranco's song "[[32 Flavors]]". Samples from the track "Coming Up" were used by [[DJ Spooky]] in his album ''Live Without Dead Time'', produced for [[AdBusters]] Magazine in 2003.{{cn|date=April 2025}} In 2010, DiFranco played [[Persephone]] on [[Anaïs Mitchell]]'s album [[Hadestown (album)|Hadestown]].{{cn|date=April 2025}}

DiFranco was approached by Zoe Boekbinder to work on their ''Prison Music Project'', an album of collaborations between incarcerated and formerly incarcerated writers and musicians on the outside.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Douris|first=Raina|date=October 26, 2020|title=The Prison Music Project: Songs from Inside New Folsom Prison|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/10/26/927811718/the-prison-music-project-songs-from-inside-new-folsom-prison|access-date=October 6, 2021|website=[[NPR]]}}</ref> DiFranco co-produced the project with Boekbinder and co-wrote and performed "Nowhere but Barstow and Prison." The album ''Long Time Gone'' was released on [[Righteous Babe Records]] in 2020 after ten years in the making.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ebejer|first=Sandra|date=August 25, 2020|title=Ani DiFranco's 'Long Time Gone' Is the Perfect Mix of Activism and Creativity|url=https://www.shondaland.com/inspire/a33769059/ani-difrancos-long-time-gone/|access-date=October 6, 2021|website=[[Shondaland]]}}</ref>

===Lyrical content===

Although much of DiFranco's material is autobiographical, it is often also strongly political. Many of her songs are concerned with contemporary social issues such as [[racism]], [[sexism]], [[sexual abuse]], [[homophobia]], [[reproductive rights]], poverty, and war. In 2008, she donated a song to [[Aid Still Required]]'s CD to assist with the restoration of the devastation done to Southeast Asia from the [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami|2004 tsunami]].{{cn|date=April 2025}} The combination of personal and political is partially responsible for DiFranco's early popularity among politically active college students, particularly those of the left wing, some of whom set up fan pages on the [[World Wide Web|web]] to document DiFranco's career as early as 1994. DiFranco's rapid rise in popularity in the mid-1990s was fueled mostly by personal contact and word of mouth rather than [[mainstream media]].<ref name=":1" />

===Label independence=== 

DiFranco cites her anti-corporate ethos for the main reason she decided to start her own label. This has allowed her a considerable degree of creative freedom<ref>{{cite web|last=Burlingham|first=Bo|title=Don't Call Her an Entrepreneur|date=September 2004|url=http://www.inc.com/magazine/20040901/difranco.html|work=INC. Magazine|access-date=July 29, 2013}}</ref> over the years, including, for example, providing all instrumentals and vocals and recording the album herself at her home on an analog 8-track [[reel to reel]], and handling much of the artwork and packaging design for her 2004 album ''[[Educated Guess]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Educated Guess |url=http://www.righteousbabe.com/ani/educated_guess/more_info.asp |website=righteousbabe.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716183146/http://www.righteousbabe.com/ani/educated_guess/more_info.asp |archive-date=July 16, 2012}}</ref> She has referenced this independence from major labels in song more than once, including "The Million You Never Made" (''[[Not a Pretty Girl]]''), which discusses the act of turning down a lucrative contract, "The Next Big Thing" (''[[Not So Soft]]''), which describes an imagined meeting with a label head-hunter who evaluates the singer based on her looks, and "Napoleon" (''[[Dilate (Ani DiFranco album)|Dilate]]''), which sympathizes sarcastically with an unnamed friend who did sign with a label.

The business grew organically starting in 1990 with the first cassette tape. Connections were made when women in colleges started duplicating and sharing tapes. Offers to play at colleges started coming in and her popularity grew largely by word of mouth and through women's groups or organizations.<ref name=":1">{{cite news|last=Keast |first=James |url=http://exclaim.ca/Features/Timeline/ani_difranco-lil_folksinger_that_could |title=Ani DiFranco – The L'il Folksinger That Could • Timeline • |work=Exclaim! |access-date=December 4, 2013}}</ref> Zango and Goldenrod, two music distributors specializing in women's music, started carrying DiFranco's music. They sold music to independent music stores and women's book stores. In 1995, Righteous Babe Records signed with [[Koch International]] for DiFranco's release of ''Not a Pretty Girl''. Her records could then be found in large and small record stores alike.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

DiFranco has occasionally joined with [[Prince (musician)|Prince]] in discussing publicly the problems associated with major record companies. Righteous Babe Records employs a number of people in her hometown of Buffalo. In a 1997 open letter to ''[[Ms. (magazine)|Ms.]]'' magazine she expressed displeasure that what she considers a way to ensure her own artistic freedom was seen by others solely in terms of its financial success.<ref>{{cite web |title=An Open Letter from Ani DiFranco |url=http://www.columbia.edu/~marg/ani/letter.html |website=Columbia.edu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114013744/http://www.columbia.edu/~marg/ani/letter.html |archive-date=January 14, 2009}}</ref>

==Activism==

From the earliest days of her career, DiFranco has lent her voice and her name to a broad range of social movements, performing benefit concerts, appearing on benefit albums, speaking at rallies, and offering info table space to organizations at her concerts and the virtual equivalent on her website, among other methods and actions. In 1999, she created her own not-for-profit organization; as the Buffalo News has reported, "Through the Righteous Babe Foundation, DiFranco has backed various grassroots cultural and political organizations, supporting causes ranging from abortion rights to gay visibility."<ref name="Hearey"/>

During the [[Gulf War|first Gulf War]], DiFranco participated in the anti-war movement. In early 1993 she played [[Pete Seeger]]'s Clearwater Folk Festival for the first time. In 1998, she was a featured performer in the Dead Man Walking benefit concert series<ref>{{cite web|title=Vedder, Tom Waits, Ani DiFranco Set For "Dead Man" Benefit|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1428080/vedder-tom-waits-ani-difranco-set-dead-man-benefit.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212005614/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1428080/vedder-tom-waits-ani-difranco-set-dead-man-benefit.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 12, 2013|website=MTV|access-date=July 30, 2013|date=February 13, 1998}}</ref> raising money for Sister [[Helen Prejean]]'s "Not in Our Name" anti-death penalty organization. DiFranco's commitment to opposing the death penalty is longstanding; she has also been a long time supporter of the [[Southern Center for Human Rights]].

During the [[U.S. presidential election, 2000|2000 U.S. presidential election]], she actively supported and voted for [[Green Party of the United States|Green Party]] candidate [[Ralph Nader]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Campion |first=James |url=http://www.hackwriters.com/difranco04.htm |title=Ani DiFranco in Bloom – James Campion interviews the folk diva |website=Hackwriters.com |access-date=April 17, 2014 |date=May 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Grossman |first=Pamela |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5925399/eddie_vedder_patti_smith_go_green_at_nyc_nader_rally/print |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211212946/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5925399/eddie_vedder_patti_smith_go_green_at_nyc_nader_rally/print |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 11, 2009 |title=Eddie Vedder, Patti Smith Go Green at NYC Nader Rally |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=April 17, 2014 |date=October 17, 2000}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dir.salon.com/story/politics/feature/2000/11/06/letters/index1.html |title=The Nader letters |work=Salon |date=November 6, 2000 |access-date=April 17, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607011642/http://dir.salon.com/story/politics/feature/2000/11/06/letters/index1.html |archive-date=June 7, 2011 }}</ref> though in an open letter she made clear that if she lived in a [[swing state]], she would vote for [[Al Gore]] to prevent [[George W. Bush]] from being elected.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/2000/11/06/letters_7/|title=The Nader letters|last=Salon Staff|work=[[Salon.com|Salon]]|date=November 7, 2000|access-date=July 30, 2013}}</ref>

In 2004, DiFranco visited Burma in order to learn about the Burmese resistance movement and the country's fight for democracy.<ref>{{cite web|last=Alzner|first=Susan|title=documentary photography|url=http://www.susanalzner.com/gallery.html?folio=Documentary&gallery=Burma%20and%20Thailand%20with%20Ani%20DiFranco%20and%20Damien%20Rice|website=Susanalzner.com|access-date=July 30, 2013}}</ref> During her travels she met with then-detained resistance leader [[Aung San Suu Kyi]]. Her song "In The Way" was later featured on ''[[For the Lady]]'', a benefit CD that donated all proceeds to the [[United States Campaign for Burma]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Sacks|first=Carla|title=Press Release|url=http://uscampaignforburma.org/news/press-releases/22-archived-press-releases/2474-for-the-lady-bene-t-album-to-be-released-october-26th-on-rhino-records.html|website=US Campaign for Burma|access-date=July 30, 2013|archive-date=March 20, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130320053900/http://uscampaignforburma.org/news/press-releases/22-archived-press-releases/2474-for-the-lady-bene-t-album-to-be-released-october-26th-on-rhino-records.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

During the 2004 presidential primaries, she supported liberal, anti-war Democrat [[Dennis Kucinich]], who appeared on stage with her during several of her concerts. After the primary season ended, and [[John Kerry]] was the clear Democratic candidate, DiFranco launched a "Vote Dammit!" tour of swing states encouraging audience members to vote.<ref>{{cite news|last=Buchel|first=John|title=Ani DiFranco challenges fans to vote|url=http://badgerherald.com/artsetc/2004/09/17/ani_difranco_challen.php|access-date=July 30, 2013|newspaper=The Badger Herald|date=September 17, 2004|archive-date=October 7, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007062253/http://badgerherald.com/artsetc/2004/09/17/ani_difranco_challen.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2005, she lobbied Congress against the proliferation of nuclear power in general and the placement of nuclear waste dumps on Indian land in particular.<ref>{{cite web|last=Mariotte |first=Michael |title=JULY 25: Senate Call-in Day! Help Ani DiFranco |url=http://www.nirs.org/alerts/07-18-2005/1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060127090042/http://www.nirs.org/alerts/07-18-2005/1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 27, 2006 |website=NIRS |access-date=July 30, 2013 |date=July 18, 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Special Benefit Concert to Help Fund the Legal Campaign to Stop the Re-licensing of Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant |url=http://guacfund.org/peteseegeranidifrancoindianpointlegalfund/ |website=Guacfund.org |access-date=July 30, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130918002257/http://guacfund.org/peteseegeranidifrancoindianpointlegalfund/ |archive-date=September 18, 2013 |date=January 18, 2008}}</ref> In 2008, she again backed Kucinich in his bid for the presidency.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ruehl|first=Kim|title=Dennis Kucinich, Ani DiFranco Urging Fans to Go Green|url=http://folkmusic.about.com/b/2007/11/09/dennis-kucinich-ani-difranco-urging-fans-to-go-green.htm|website=About.com|access-date=July 30, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928024424/http://folkmusic.about.com/b/2007/11/09/dennis-kucinich-ani-difranco-urging-fans-to-go-green.htm|archive-date=September 28, 2013|url-status=dead|date=November 9, 2007}}</ref>

In 2002, Righteous Babe Records established the "Aiding Buffalo's Children" program in conjunction with members of the local community to raise funds for Buffalo's public school system. To kick off the program, DiFranco donated "a day's pay"—the performance fee from her concert that year at Shea's Performing Arts Center— to ABC and challenged her fans to do the same. Aiding Buffalo's Children has since been folded into the Community Foundation of Greater Buffalo, contributing to a variety of charitable funds.<ref>{{cite news|last=Shultz|first=Erin|title=Music and Her Message: DiFranco at Shea's|url=http://www.ubspectrum.com/arts/music-and-her-message-difranco-at-shea-s-1.1393961|access-date=July 30, 2013|newspaper=The Spectrum|date=April 10, 2002|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212090049/http://www.ubspectrum.com/arts/music-and-her-message-difranco-at-shea-s-1.1393961#.UfghPdLVCSo|archive-date=December 12, 2013}}</ref>

In 2005, when [[Hurricane Katrina]] devastated DiFranco's newly adopted home town of New Orleans, she collected donations from fans around the world through The Righteous Babe Store website for the Katrina Piano Fund,<ref>{{cite news|last=Pinsonneault|first=Julie|title=Bearing Witness "New Orleans favorite Ani DiFranco endured 9/11 while in New York City and Hurricane Katrina while in New Orleans.|url=http://www.bestofneworleans.com/gambit/bearing-witness/Content?oid=1245650|access-date=July 30, 2013|newspaper=Gambit|date=April 25, 2006|archive-date=December 12, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212123951/http://www.bestofneworleans.com/gambit/bearing-witness/Content?oid=1245650|url-status=dead}}</ref> helping musicians replace instruments lost in the hurricane, raising over $47,500 for the cause.

In 2010, after the [[Deepwater Horizon oil spill]], she performed at the "For Our Coast" benefit concert joining [[Marianne Faithfull]], [[C.&nbsp;C. Adcock]] and others at the Acadiana Center for the Arts Theater in Lafayette, raising money for Gulf Aid Acadiana, and the Gulf Aid show with [[Lenny Kravitz]], [[Mos Def]], and others at Mardi Gras World River City in New Orleans, both shows raising money to help protect the wetlands, clean up the coast and to assist the fishermen and their families affected by the spill.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kaufman|first=Gil|title=Lenny Kravitz Headlining Gulf Aid To Benefit Oil Spill Recovery|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1638853/lenny-kravitz-headlining-concert-benefit-gulf-coast.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110120234505/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1638853/lenny-kravitz-headlining-concert-benefit-gulf-coast.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 20, 2011|website=MTV|access-date=July 30, 2013|date=May 11, 2010}}</ref>

DiFranco sits on the board for [[The Roots of Music]],<ref name="New Orleans"/> founded by [[Rebirth Brass Band]] drummer [[Derrick Tabb]]. The organization provides free [[marching band]] instruction to children in the New Orleans area in addition to academic tutoring and mentoring.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

DiFranco joined about 500,000 people at the March for Women's Lives in DC in April 2004. As an honored guest she marched in the front row for the three-mile route, along with [[Margaret Cho]], [[Janeane Garofalo]], [[Whoopi Goldberg]], [[Gloria Steinem]] and others. Later in the day, DiFranco played a few songs on the main stage in front of the Capitol, including "Your Next Bold Move".<ref>{{cite web|title=March for Women's Lives 2004|url=http://righteousbabe.myshopify.com/products/ani-marches-and-sings-in-washington-d-c|website=Righteousbabe.com|access-date=July 30, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517163816/http://righteousbabe.myshopify.com/products/ani-marches-and-sings-in-washington-d-c|archive-date=May 17, 2013}}</ref>

Scot Fisher, formerly Righteous Babe label president and DiFranco's manager for many years, has been a longtime advocate of the preservation movement in Buffalo. In 1999, he and DiFranco purchased a decaying church on the verge of demolition in downtown Buffalo and began the lengthy process of restoring it. In 2006, the building opened its doors again, first briefly as "The Church" and then as "Babeville," housing two concert venues, the record label's business office, and Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center.<ref>{{cite web|last=Conaway|first=James|title=An exchange with Ani DiFranco|url=http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2004/november-december/an-exchange-with-ani-difranco.html|website=Preservationnation.org|access-date=July 30, 2013|date=November 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212020910/http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2004/november-december/an-exchange-with-ani-difranco.html|archive-date=December 12, 2013}}</ref>

DiFranco is a member of the Toronto-based charity Artists Against Racism for which she participated in a radio PSA.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://artistsagainstracism.org/radio-2/|title=Radio – Artists Against Racism|website=Artistsagainstracism.org|access-date=January 29, 2021|archive-date=October 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007213912/http://artistsagainstracism.org/radio-2/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On July 21, 2006, she received the [[Woman of Courage Award Winners|Woman of Courage Award]] at the [[National Organization for Women]] (NOW) Conference and Young Feminist Summit in [[Albany, New York]]. DiFranco was one of the first musicians to receive the award, given each year to a woman who has set herself apart by her contributions to the feminist movement.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2006/07/21/late-news-ani-difranco-adam-green-chris-cornell-lily-allen-janet-jackson/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013081338/http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2006/07/21/late-news-ani-difranco-adam-green-chris-cornell-lily-allen-janet-jackson/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 13, 2007 |title=Late News: Ani DiFranco, Adam Green, Chris Cornell, Lily Allen, Janet Jackson |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=December 4, 2013 |date=July 21, 2006}}</ref>

In 2009, DiFranco received the Woody Guthrie Award for being a voice of positive social change.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://folkmusic.about.com/b/2009/10/07/ani-difranco-to-receive-woody-guthrie-award.htm |title=Ani DiFranco to Receive Woody Guthrie Award |website=Folkmusic.about.com |date=October 7, 2009 |access-date=December 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510203205/http://folkmusic.about.com/b/2009/10/07/ani-difranco-to-receive-woody-guthrie-award.htm |archive-date=May 10, 2013 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

In October 2023, DiFranco signed an open letter to [[Joe Biden]], [[President of the United States]], of artists calling for a ceasefire of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Artists4Ceasefire |url=https://www.artists4ceasefire.org/ |access-date=2023-12-11 |website=Artists4Ceasefire}}</ref>

==Awards and nominations==

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Nominated work !! Award !! Result
|-
| 2017 || Ani DiFranco  || A2IM Lifetime Achievement Award<ref name="a2im">{{Cite web|url=https://www.a2im.org/a2im-to-honor-nick-lowe-with-independent-icon-award-ani-difranco-to-receive-lifetime-achievement/|title=A2IM to Honor Nick Lowe With Independent Icon Award & Ani DiFranco to Receive Lifetime Achievement|last=A2IM|date=March 7, 2017|website=A2IM|access-date=April 3, 2019}}</ref>  || {{won}}
|-
| 2021 || Ani DiFranco  || John Lennon Real Love Award<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bauder|first=David|date=October 1, 2021|title=Ani DiFranco to be honored at John Lennon benefit show|url=https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-arts-and-entertainment-new-york-concerts-music-0777bb8d31320f0c6b64bbb1b6cb25cc|access-date=October 6, 2021|work=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref>  || {{won}}
|-
| 2024 || ''[[Hadestown]]'' || Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite Replacement (Female) || {{nom}}
|}

==Discography{{anchor|Discography}}==

{{Main|Ani DiFranco discography}}

===Studio albums===
*''[[Ani DiFranco (album)|Ani DiFranco]]'' (1990)
*''[[Not So Soft]]'' (1991)
*''[[Imperfectly]]'' (1992)
*''[[Puddle Dive]]'' (1993)
*''[[Out of Range (album)|Out of Range]]'' (1994)
*''[[Not a Pretty Girl]]'' (1995)
*''[[Dilate (Ani DiFranco album)|Dilate]]'' (1996)
*''[[Little Plastic Castle]]'' (1998)
*''[[Up Up Up Up Up Up]]'' (1999)
*''[[To the Teeth]]'' (1999)
*''[[Revelling/Reckoning]]'' (2001)
*''[[Evolve (Ani DiFranco album)|Evolve]]'' (2003)
*''[[Educated Guess]]'' (2004)
*''[[Knuckle Down]]'' (2005)
*''[[Reprieve (album)|Reprieve]]'' (2006)
*''[[Red Letter Year]]'' (2008)
*''[[¿Which Side Are You On?]]'' (2012)
*''[[Allergic to Water]]'' (2014)
*''[[Binary (Ani DiFranco album)|Binary]]'' (2017)<ref>{{Cite web|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210919180117/https://www.capecodtimes.com/entertainmentlife/20160821/ani-difranco-seeks-higher-truth|archive-date=September 19, 2021|url=https://www.capecodtimes.com/entertainmentlife/20160821/ani-difranco-seeks-higher-truth|title=Ani DiFranco seeks a higher truth|first=Jim|last=Sullivan|website=capecodtimes.com|access-date=July 31, 2019|date=August 21, 2016}}</ref>
*''[[Revolutionary Love (album)|Revolutionary Love]]'' (2021)<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ani-difranco-revolutionary-love-1091995/ |title=Ani DiFranco Announces New LP 'Revolutionary Love,' Drops Title Track |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=November 18, 2020 |access-date=November 20, 2020 |author=Kreps, Daniel}}</ref>
*''[[Unprecedented Sh!t (album)|Unprecedented Sh!t]]'' (2024)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.righteousbabe.com/products/ani-difranco-unprecedented-sh-t-album |title=Ani DiFranco - Unprecedented Sh!t (Album) |website=righteousbabe.com|access-date=March 26, 2024}}</ref>

====with Utah Phillips====
*''[[The Past Didn't Go Anywhere]]'' (1996)
*''[[Fellow Workers]]'' (1999)

===Live albums===
* 1994 – ''[[An Acoustic Evening With]]''
* 1994 – ''[[Women in (E)motion]]'' (German Release)
* 1997 – ''[[Living in Clip]]''
* 2002 – ''[[So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter]]''
* 2004 – ''[[Atlanta – 10.9.03]]'' (Official Bootleg series #1)
* 2004 – ''Sacramento – 10.25.03'' (Official Bootleg series #1)
* 2004 – ''Portland – 4.7.04'' (Official Bootleg series #1)
* 2005 – ''Boston – 11.16.03'' (Official Bootleg series #1)
* 2005 – ''Chicago – 1.17.04'' (Official Bootleg series #1)
* 2005 – ''Madison – 1.25.04'' (Official Bootleg series #1)
* 2005 – ''Rome – 11.15.04'' (Official Bootleg series #1)
* 2006 – ''[[Carnegie Hall – 4.6.02]]'' (Official Bootleg series No. 1 – available in stores)
* 2007 – ''Boston – 11.10.06'' (Official Bootleg series #1)
* 2008 – ''Hamburg – 10.18.07'' (Official Bootleg series #1)
* 2009 – ''[[Saratoga, CA – 9.18.06]]'' (Official Bootleg series #1)
* 2009 – ''[[Chicago – 9.22.07]]'' (Official Bootleg series #1)
* 2010 – ''Live at Bull Moose Music'' (Limited edition)<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bryan|first=Shannon|url=https://www.pressherald.com/things-to-do/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120410052634/http://www.mainetoday.com/enternews/041520.html|url-status=dead|title=Bull Moose Celebrates 3rd Annual Record Store Day on April 17|archivedate=April 10, 2012|access-date=September 23, 2024|date=April 1, 2010}}</ref>
* 2012 – ''Buffalo – April 22, 2012'' (Official Bootleg series #2)
* 2013 – ''London – October 29, 2008'' (Official Bootleg series #2)
* 2014 – ''Ridgefield, CT – November 18, 2009'' (Official Bootleg series #2)
* 2014 – ''Harrisburg, PA – January 23, 2008'' (Official Bootleg series #2)
* 2015 – ''New York, NY – March 30, 1995'' (Official Bootleg series #2)
* 2016 – ''Glenside, PA – November 11, 2012'' (Official Bootleg series #2)
* 2016 – ''Melbourne, FL – January 19, 2016'' (Official Bootleg series #2)
* 2018 – ''Charlottesville, VA 5.12.18'' (Official Bootleg series #3)
* 2019 – ''Woodstock, NY Jun 16, 2019'' (Official Bootleg series #3)
* 2020 – ''Keene, NH Nov 16, 2019'' (Official Bootleg series #3)
*2021 – ''Revolutionary Love: Live at Big Blue''

===EPs===
* 1996 – ''[[More Joy, Less Shame]]''
* 1999 – ''[[Little Plastic Remixes]]'' (limited distribution)
* 2000 – ''[[Swing Set]]''
* 2016 – ''[[Play God (Ani DiFranco single)|Play God]]''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.righteousbabe.com/collections/ani-difranco|title=Ani DiFranco – righteousbabe|website=righteousbabe.com}}</ref>

===Videos===
* 2002 – ''Render: Spanning Time with Ani DiFranco''
* 2004 – ''Trust''
* 2008 – ''Live at Babeville''

===Compilations===
* 1993 – ''[[Like I Said: Songs 1990–91]]''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mmguide.musicmatch.com/album/album.cgi?ALBUMID=476160&AMGLENGTH=full#review|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020909160348/http://www.mmguide.musicmatch.com/album/album.cgi?ALBUMID=476160&AMGLENGTH=full#review|url-status=dead|title=Yahoo!|archive-date=September 9, 2002|website=mmguide.musicmatch.com}}</ref>
* 1995 – ''Live from Mountain Stage, Vol. 8'' – "Buildings & Bridges (live)"
* 1996 – ''Women's Work'' – "Cradle and All (live)"
* 1996 – ''Women: Live from Mountain Stage'' – "Egos Like Hairdos (live)"
* 1997 – ''Divine Divas: A World of Women's Voices'' – "Amazing Grace"
* 1998 – ''Live at World Café Vol. 6'' – "Buildings & Bridges (live)"
* 1998 – ''Modern Day Storytellers'' – "Buildings & Bridges"
* 1998 – ''Rare on Air Vol. 4'' (KCRW) – "Gravel (live)"
* 1998 – ''Where Have All the Flowers Gone: Songs of Pete Seeger'' – "My Name is Lisa Kalvelage"
* 1998 – ''Women of Spirit'' – "Done Wrong"
* 1999 – ''Respect: A Century of Women in Music'' – "32 Flavors"
* 2000 – ''Badlands: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska'' – "Used Cars"
* 2000 – ''Best of Hard Rock Café Live'' – "Little Plastic Castle (live)"
* 2000 – '''Til We Outnumber 'Em'' – Performed "[[Do Re Mi (Woody Guthrie song)|Do Re Mi]]" solo and "Ramblin' Round" with [[Indigo Girls]]; Producer
* 2001 – ''Live @ The World Café Vol. 10'' – "32 Flavors"
* 2001 – ''Best of Sessions at West 54th'' – "32 Flavors"
* 2002 – ''Gascd'' – "Your Next Bold Move"
* 2002 – ''Going Driftless: An Artist Tribute to Greg Brown'' – "The Poet Game"
* 2002 – ''When Pigs Fly: Songs You Never Thought You'd Hear'' – "[[Unforgettable (Irving Gordon song)|Unforgettable]]" w/ [[Jackie Chan]]
* 2003 – ''Peace Not War'' – "Self Evident"
* 2004 – ''Peace Not War Vol. 2'' – "Animal"
* 2004 – ''[[For the Lady]]'' – "In the Way"
* 2005 – ''[[Bonnaroo Music Festival 2004]]'' (CD & DVD) – "Evolve (live)"
* 2006 – ''Music Is Hope'' – "Napoleon (remix)"
* 2006 – ''Dead Man Walking: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture'' – "Crime for Crime", "Fuel", "Up Up Up Up Up Up"
* 2007 – ''[[Canon (album)|Canon]]''
* 2007 – ''Sowing the Seed: The 10th Anniversary Appleseed Recordings'' – "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy"
* 2007 – ''Cool as Folk: Cambridge Folk Festival'' – "Cradle and All (live)"
* 2009 – ''Singing Through the Hard Times: A Utah Phillips Celebration'' – "The International"
* 2011 – ''Note of Hope: A Celebration of Woody Guthrie'' – "Voice"
* 2011 – ''[[Every Mother Counts (album)|Every Mother Counts]]'' – "Present/Infant" (Remix)
* 2012 – ''[[Occupy This Album]]'' – "Which Side Are You On? (a capella)"
* 2019 – ''No Walls Mixtape''
* 2020 – ''Prison Music Project'': ''Long Time Gone – '' "Nowhere but Barstow and Prison"<ref name="righteousbabe.com">{{Cite web|title=Prison Music Project – righteousbabe|url=https://www.righteousbabe.com/pages/prisonmusicproject|access-date=March 10, 2021|website=Righteousbabe.com|language=en}}</ref>

===As producer===
* 1998 – [[Dan Bern]] – ''[[Fifty Eggs]]''
* 2010 – [[Margaret Cho]] – ''[[Cho Dependent]]'' – co-producer on "Captain Cameltoe"
* 2017 – [[Peter Mulvey]] – ''Are You Listening?''<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wine|first=Steven|date=March 14, 2017|title=Music Review: Plenty of clever twists from Peter Mulvey|url=https://apnews.com/article/0e44679200934638997c69048af5bc37|access-date=October 6, 2021|work=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref>
* 2020 – ''Prison Music Project: Long Time Gone''<ref name="righteousbabe.com"/>

===Other contributions===
* 1989 – ''Demo tape'' (unreleased)
* 2001 – [[John Gorka]] – ''The Company You Keep'' – backing vocals on "Oh Abraham"
* 2006 – [[Jason Karaban]] – ''Doomed to Make Choices''
* 2006 – [[Twilight Singers]] – ''[[Powder Burns]]'' – Featured on "Bonnie Brae," "Candy Cane Crawl," and "Powder Burns"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/The-Twilight-Singers-Powder-Burns/release/5236350|title=The Twilight Singers – Powder Burns|work=Discogs|year=2006 }}</ref>
* 2008 – [[Dr. John]] – ''The City That Care Forgot'' – Contributed backing vocals to the title track.
* 2009 – Jason Karaban – ''Sobriety Kills''
* 2010 – [[Anaïs Mitchell]] – ''[[Hadestown (album)|Hadestown]]''
* 2010 – [[Preservation Hall Jazz Band]] – ''Preservation: An Album to Benefit Preservation Hall & The Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program'' – Featured on "Freight Train"
* 2011 – [[Twilight Singers]] – ''[[Dynamite Steps]]'' – Featured on "Blackbird and the Fox"
*2016 – Ryan Harvey – Featured on "Old Man Trump"<ref>{{Cite web|last=McCarthy|first=Ciara|date=June 30, 2021|title=Old Man Trump: Tom Morello gives new life to Woody Guthrie's protest song|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jun/30/old-man-trump-tom-morello-ani-difranco-woody-guthrie|access-date=October 6, 2021|website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>
*2019 – [[Rising Appalachia]] – ''Leylines –'' Featured on "Speak Out"<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sacher|first=Andrew|date=April 29, 2019|title=Ani DiFranco guests on new Rising Appalachia song 'Speak Out' (listen)|url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/ani-difranco-guests-on-new-rising-appalachia-song-speak-out-listen/|access-date=October 6, 2021|website=Brooklyn Vegan}}</ref>
*2021 – [[Pieta Brown]] – Featured on "We Are Not Machines"<ref>{{Cite web|last=Minsker|first=Evan|date=November 18, 2020|title=Ani DiFranco Announces New Album Revolutionary Love, Shares New Song: Listen|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/ani-difranco-announces-new-album-revolutionary-love-shares-new-song-listen/|access-date=October 6, 2021|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]}}</ref>

==Poetry==
* 2004 – ''Self-evident: poesie e disegni''
* 2007 – ''Verses''

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{commons}}
* {{Official website}}
* [http://www.righteousbabe.com/ The Righteous Babe homepage]
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{MusicBrainz artist}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090508135825/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/anidifranco Ani DiFranco] at ''[[Rolling Stone]]''

{{Ani DiFranco|state=expanded}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Difranco, Ani}}
[[Category:1970 births]]
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[[Category:American activists]]
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