BONUS CONTENT: Ani DiFranco's Friends on the Folk Circuit

A playlist from the archives.

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Last week I shared a 2021 interview I conducted with Ani DiFranco for AARP. The column I wrote that piece for no longer exists, which is a huge shame—it was a great one. Every artist that was interviewed for the column came to the interview with a playlist of songs they put together on a topic of their choosing. Ani’s playlist was “My Friends on the Folk Circuit,” a collection of songs by those she befriended over the years.

Because the piece was taken down long ago, my editor kindly gave me permission to republish it, so I’m sharing the playlist with you now along with Ani’s stories about each of the artists included in the list.

I love this list because she speaks of the many artists who have influenced and inspired her as a writer, a musician, and a person.

I hope you’ll give it a read and then listen to the tracks. Enjoy!

Ani DiFranco, User:Carstor, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

SANDRA EBEJER: What is the theme around this collection of songs?

ANI DIFRANCO: The theme is “my friends on the folk circuit.” The theme is “the kindest, sweetest people that I met through entering the folk underground.” You know, like Si Kahn and Pete Seeger, these folk elders that were instantly welcoming and embracing of me.

We’ll talk through each person, and you can share why you chose their song. First up is Si Kahn, “Aragon Mill.”