PREVIOUS FESTIVALS
SIZZLE REEL
2019 PRESS RELEASE
Ani DiFranco Teams up with The Roots of Music for BABEFEST 2019
Sunday November 24, 2019
Orpheum Theater
New Orleans, LA
For The Love of NOLA Panel Speaker Series
“Music is an international language, one which has the power to unite all the world’s people and expresses our common humanity.” ani difranco
November 12, 2019: Singer/songwriter/activist Ani DiFranco announces the fourth annual Babefest, a festival of music, community and activism taking place November 24 at the Orpheum Theater in New Orleans. This year’s Babefest is a benefit for The Roots of Music, a New Orleans afterschool music program which busses in a hundred underserved kids, age 9-14, from forty schools all over the city, five days a week. Tickets can be found here. Roots of Music students get in free with their ID, and Roots of Music staff, students and their families are invited to attend the educational panels free of charge.
DiFranco’s connection to The Roots of Music goes back to the beginning of the organization twelve years ago. Derrick Tebb started the program in the aftermath of Katrina to give kids in New Orleans a place to go while the world around them slowly recovered and rebuilt itself. DiFranco notes, “The Roots of Music is a place to go after school, where you can get help with your homework, where you can get a balanced meal, where you can get camaraderie, musical knowledge, and you can become a part of something that is bigger than yourself.” As an active board member, DiFranco is passionate about Roots and is committed to expanding its reach.
Babefest 2019 is centered in New Orleans and is of New Orleans. The speaker series is dubbed “For the Love of NOLA” and is designed to spark conversation between luminaries across music, literature and dance. Guests will be welcomed in as The Roots of Music performs, and keynote speaker Valerie Kaur (Revolutionary Love) will begin the event. Next up is the “Identity & Dance” panel moderated by filmmaker /educator Lily Keber, who will lead the roundtable consisting of artists Boyfriend, Arcade Fire’s Regine Chassagne, DJ Nice Rack, Dianne Honore and GIVERS’ Tif Lamson. Performances by Ani DiFranco, Tif Lamson and Princess Shaw follow the panel. Author Tanya Zabinksi (Peace, Love, Action! Everyday Acts of Goodness from A to Z) will speak to activism for all ages. Kristin Shannon will emcee the event.
Babefest 2019 wraps up The Roots of Music’s 7th annual Fall fundraiser. The weekend offers a number of Roots of Music events, including performances by The Soul Rebels featuring Kam Franklin of The Suffers, Tarriona Tank Ball of Tank and the Bangas, and The Roots of Music Marching Band.
DiFranco’s latest effort is her New York Times best-selling memoir, NO WALLS AND THE RECURRING DREAM. In the book she recounts her early life from a place of hard-won wisdom, combining personal expression, the power of music, feminism, political activism, storytelling, philanthropy, entrepreneurship, and much more into an inspiring whole. Raves for DiFranco and NO WALLS include:
"Ani DiFranco has written a memoir as fierce, freewheeling, and passionate as her music." O, The Oprah Magazine
"Ani DiFranco has spent decades challenging the status quo, standing up for what she believes and creating honest, raw, music." Her memoir is an extension of these passions." Associated Press
"DiFranco manages to shed new light on how a young, talented woman created enough momentum to slingshot herself beyond her town's suffocating gravitational pull and created an entirely new solar system, populated with an orbit of planets and moons of her own devising." Rolling Stone
2018 Press Release
ANI DIFRANCO’S “BABEFEST”
September 21 AT WARSAW IN
BROOKLYN, NY
RISE UP –Music Community Activism
FEATURING PERFORMANCES BY
ANI DIFRANCO
RESISTANCE REVIVAL CHORUS
TORRES
AMY LEON
And More
BENEFIT FOR EMILY’S LIST
The power to revolutionize our government and set America on a path towards peace and justice is already in our hands. Ani DiFranco
Tickets on Sale Today at 10am EDT
August 29, 2018: As the midterm elections loom in the near future, activist/feminist/singer/author Ani DiFranco is actively rounding up the troops to take action. DiFranco continues to urge those around her to “Rise Up” and get active in regards to voting. This effort is the third annual Babefest, a festival of music, community and activism taking place September 21 at Warsaw in Brooklyn, NY. This year’s Babefest is a benefit for EMILY’s List a political action committee that elects pro-choice Democratic women into office. Tickets go on sale today at 10am EST; link is here.
In addition to musical and spoken word performances from DiFranco, Babefest will feature the Resistance Revival Chorus, Torres, and Amy Leon.
The Resistance Revival Chorus is a collective of 70 women who came out of the Women’s March to sing protest songs together. They performed alongside Kesha at the 2018 Grammys.
Critical darling Torres has broken boundaries in music by owning sexuality in a way that is typically reserved for men. Her 2017 album Three Futures made year-end best-of lists in Newsweek, Noisey, and NPR.
Amy Leon is an artist, poet, and educator. Her work explores her intersectional life. She created the #selfiepoetryproject to bring more visibility to her experience as a woman of color.
Babefest will also offer a half-day training session through Emily’s List “Run To Win” program for pro-choice Democratic women thinking about running for elected office. EMILY’s List is the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, having raised over $500 million to support pro-choice Democratic women candidates – making them one of the most successful political organizations ever. Their grassroots community of over five million members helps Democratic women wage competitive campaigns – and win. At this training, EMILY’s List will guide you through the nuts and bolts of planning your run, teach you how to get your house in order, and get ready to take the first steps toward running -- and winning.
The training takes place after Babefest on Saturday, September 22nd. Registration check-in will be from 9am to 10am, and the training will go from 10am to 3pm (this includes breaks). Register here: https://secure.emilyslist.org/page/s/20180531_email_RunToWinNYC
"EMILY's List is thrilled to be partnering with Babefest," said Lucinda Guinn, vice president of campaigns at EMILY's List. "This election cycle, we have trained more than 5,000 women, in-person and online, preparing them to run or help other women run for office. Working with these phenomenal artists featured at Babefest helps to spread our mission while bringing attention to the need of more women being represented at every level of government."
“Lack of voter participation has lead us to the brink of disaster. Without speaking in hyperbole, voting this November is more crucial than ever before. Democratic principles, already eroded, can collapse. America is not immune. Yes, they are going to make it as difficult for us as they can. But we can overwhelm the corruption with our numbers. Let’s rise up by all simply stepping into a voting booth on the same day. Let’s think of each other and feel the power of acting together. Let’s get this party started! The great irony is that the power of a revolution of peace and justice has been right here in our hands all along. Use it or lose it, baby.
“COME SUPPORT EMILY’S LIST AT BABEFEST SEPTEMBER 21!
VOTE NOVEMBER 6!” - Ani DiFranco
With DiFranco’s latest release BINARY, the iconic singer/songwriter/activist/poet/DIY trendsetter returns to territory that brought her to the world’s attention more than twenty-five years ago. Ani was one of the first artists to create her own label in 1990, and she has been recognized among the feminist pantheon for her entrepreneurship, social activism, and outspoken political lyrics. Critics and fans alike have praised BINARY, DiFranco’s twentieth album. American Songwriter raved, “DiFranco stretches musical muscles to stay inspired on Binary. She continues to speak her mind with the pride, ferocity and integrity that has shaped an impressively rebellious career.” With an exclusive "First Listen" of the album, NPR Music claimed. “…it could be the record that wakes you up to the world.” DiFranco is kicking off a tour next month; tour dates are below, and more info can be found at www.anidifranco.com.