Thanks for That

Ann Reed is the last person to reel off a list of her many accomplishments, awards, and new projects. And she's not one to wax poetic about her performing philosophy. No, you'd never use the words "large ego" with this particular artist. So we'll give you the basics: Ann is a Minnesota native. She began teaching herself how to play the guitar at the ripe old age of 12 and has been a performer for her entire adult life. Growing up with two older brothers, she was influenced by whatever they were listening to — Kingston Trio, early Joni Mitchell, Vanilla Fudge, Cream, Buffalo Springfield, Beach Boys, Beatles, Pete Seeger — plus the writers and singers of her parents' era: Cole Porter, George and Ira Gershwin, Ella Fitzgerald, Rosemary Clooney. Mary Travers — of Peter, Paul and Mary fame — was the first singer Ann heard who sang low, just like her. Validation! A touring musician for more than 30 years, Ann has gotten to know a bit about the geography of the United States and Canada. She has toured North America coast to coast, doing concerts, clubs, and festivals including Bumbershoot, Winnipeg, Black Mountain, and National Women's Music Festival. And she's met wonderful fans and made friends all along the way. She has appeared on Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion, ABC's Good Morning America, and NPR's Morning Edition, not to mention countless radio stations across the U.S. She wrote and performed Heroes, a theatrical presentation produced by Minnesota Public Radio. And in a departure from her usual repertoire, has developed (with Denise Tabet) Nothing But Class: The Songs of Dorothy Fields, honoring the first woman to be inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame. Eventually is the most recent of Ann's 21 or 22 (we've lost count) recordings. She writes the lion's share of the songs on her albums — beautiful and memorable compositions that have been covered by other artists as well. She also has the dubious distinction of having penned the most songs that include the words "Pronto Pup." (For those of you not familiar with Ann's history of writing ditties for the Minnesota State Fair, check out her CD Songs for Minnesota, which features all five Fair songs.) There have been commissioned works and numerous choral arrangements. And Ann can be heard in professional voice-overs for commercials, videos, and those telephone loops that drive you crazy while holding for your bank balance. Among Ann's accolades: Minnesota Music Academy Performer of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, and Best Recording of the Year, along with several awards from the multitude of nonprofits that she has supported while donating 25 percent of her time and efforts to organizations that primarily benefit women and children. The custom 12-string guitar that Ann plays is now older than some people in her audience. It was built by luthier Charlie Hoffman of Minneapolis. (Origin of the word "luthier," by the way, is from "lute" and bears no relationship to the profusion of Lutherans who live in Minnesota.) More about Ann is available at our website: www.annreed.com. While you're there, you can peruse photos and products. The website has a link to Ann's blog, written whenever she gets around to it, and info about her personal interests, like playwriting, commuting on her recumbent bike, learning to play the accordion, hiking in the national parks, gardening, and philately (not illegal, look it up). Need more information? Give us a call at 612-822-5102, e-mail annreedmusic@gmail.com, or go to www.annreed.com.