Ani DiFranco

Rising to prominence in the politically minded ’90s, Ani DiFranco brought a vulnerable punk attitude to folk music and became a major feminist and LGBTQ+ icon. Born in Buffalo, New York, in 1970, DiFranco started playing in local coffeehouses while still a teenager and founded her own indie record label, Righteous Babe, to release her self-titled 1990 debut. That album’s “Both Hands” is a heartbreaking ode to a crumbling relationship; later songs such as “Not a Pretty Girl” and “32 Flavors” cemented DiFranco’s iconic status by offering complicated depictions of womanhood from a feminist perspective. Over the years, DiFranco has built upon her folk-punk foundation and DIY career approach while shape-shifting through many sounds and styles. Maceo Parker contributed flute and saxophone and Prince added guest vocals on 1999’s funky To the Teeth; the 2017 release Binary boasts jazz flourishes; and 2021’s Revolutionary Love is buoyed by a string quartet.