ANI DIFRANCO

w/ Melissa Ferrick

Tickets are $49.50 in advance and $54.50 day of show (including tax) and go on sale this Friday, May 21 at 10 a.m. Tickets will be available at all Ticketpro outlets, including Live Bait Theatre (87 Main St) and Tidewater Books (4 Bridge St), by phone at 1-888-311-9090 and online. Major credit cards are accepted and service charges apply. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Wednesday, November 10
@ The Playhouse, Fredericton NB

Tickets are $49.50 in advance and $54.50 day of show (including tax) and go on sale this Friday, May 21 at 10 a.m. Tickets will be available at The Playhouse box office, by phone at 458-8344 (1-866-884-5800) and online. CIF not included in price. Major credit cards are accepted and service charges may apply. Doors open at 7 p.m.

With 20 albums to her credit since her debut in 1990, DiFranco has been called "fiercely independent" (Rolling Stone), "inspirational" (All Music Guide) and "the ultimate do-it-yourself songwriter" (The New York Times). Opting for independence, DiFranco started her own label Righteous Babe Records to release her albums and has since gone on to release albums for multiple artists, including Andrew Bird and Anais Mitchell.

Released in 2008, Red Letter Year was sculpted over the course of two years, a period in which DiFranco continued to hone her songwriting, performing and recording skills, all the while balancing her new role as a mom. Co-produced with her partner Mike Napolitano, the 12 tracks were recorded in New Orleans and features DiFranco's band, upright bassist Todd Sickafoose, vibraphonist/percussionist Mike Dillon and drummer Allison Miller, and guest performers Jon Hassell on trumpet (Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel, Ry Cooder), Rebirth Brass Band, Richard Comeaux on pedal steel and C.C Adcock (Bo Diddley).

The Boston Phoenix said, "This is DiFranco's most sophisticated album, a musical convergence of her best qualities: warm singing, graceful writing, experimentation." Paste Magazine said, "Red Letter Year is a dazzling folk/punk/jazz hybrid... which concludes with a reprise of the title track as a joyous New Orleans-brass-band stomp."

DiFranco will perform with a full band for the Sackville and Fredericton dates.