Biography

New York, Seattle, Boston, Dallas, and Alaska--Kansas songwriter Ann Zimmerman has them singing. Her rich vocals and blend of old and new folksongs, classic songs of the forties, and her own creations, turn the audience into her backup choir. With her voice alone or with her own piano or guitar, she masterfully takes hold of your heart, mind and funny bone.

Ann examines the adventure, joy, tragedy and comedy of life, especially life on the windy plains. Selected to perform for the dedication of the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve and appearing annually at the world-renowned Land Institute near Salina, Kansas, she has also entertained in New York City's Greenwich Village, Boston's coffeehouses, Juneau's Alaskan Hotel, and at regional and national conferences, festivals, farmers markets, fancy theaters, and smoky dives. She has shared stages with folk musician, John McCutcheon; songwriter, Steve Gillette; Celtic singer, Connie Dover; author, Wendell Berry; and many others. On occasion, she has been a member of the Skeptical Gospel Quartet, arranging their songs. At Christmastime, she often teams up with Kansas folk instrumentalists, the Plaid Family, for toe-tapping and heartfelt music of the season. Her new recording, "Canned Goods," and her earlier album, "Love & Weather," are available on compact disc and teeth into your musical soul.

Ann grew up in Sallna, Kansas, singing folksongs with her family to the strums of her mother's autoharp. She has been an elementary teacher, a bank clerk, a plumbing catalog editor, an agricultural intern, a student and graduate of Harvard Law School, and president of a Kansas environmental organization. She has been an attorney with Kansas Legal Services for about a decade. She now lives near Salina and divides her time between legal work and music.