Ani DiFranco

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Singer, songwriter, poet, and activist Ani DiFranco filled the Westcott Theater with about 600 fans. She had a table to register voters on her Rise Up Tour. Her message to “be real and true” was evidenced in many tales and lyrics throughout the show. “I started playing a lot of folk fests. There was not a lot of dressing up, just a lot of picking and grinning,” she said. Peter Mulvey opened the night and also connected with the crowd through storytelling. Despite the sweltering heat the fans were tuned in to the musicians and their messages.

DiFranco’s own not-for-profit Righteous Babe Foundation backs various grassroots organizations. Starting early in the 1990s DiFranco was active in political and cultural causes with benefit concerts, lobbying, etc. She is a member of Artists Against Racism and other charitable groups. She has released all her albums on her own label, Righteous Babe, as well. Ani DiFranco stands for what she believes in and is a strong role model for being genuine and true to yourself.

Zoo I can no longer watch TV
Cause that shit really melts my brain
I think I’m what they call sensitive
And easily thrown off my game All that bloodshed and pettiness
Just makes the world seem so insane
And I just feel drained When I go to do my food shopping
And all I can see is the packaging
One big mountain of garbage
About to be happening And I walk past my own self-loathing
Like I walk past animals in the zoo
Trying not to really see them
And the prison they didn’t choose If I should ever quit your spotlight
I hope you won’t think me wrong
Says the poet to the moonlight
Says the singer to the song It’s enough just to stay upright
Upright in every single way
Pour your love into your children
Until there’s nothing left to say Pour your love into your children
Until there’s nothing left to say Songwriters: Ani Di Franco Zoo lyrics © BMG Rights Management US