Keren Ann

I was first introduced to Keren Ann by a friend who invited me to go to her concert. I had never heard of her so my friend provided me with some songs and I checked out her other material and was intrigued. At the end of the night, I was much more then simply intrigued; I was blown away. She was magnificent. She now ranks among my all time favorite artists.

She has a total of five albums with her most recent self-titled album having been released earlier this year. Keren Ann grew up in France and thus her first two albums were entierly in French and were only released (to my knowledge) in Europe. They were released in 2000 and 2002 respectively. Her first U.S. debut, titled Not Going Anywhere, came out in 2003 and is my favorite. Her follow up to Not Going Anywhere, titled Nolita, is excellent as well and is partially in French which adds a little something extra because I think her voice sounds even more gorgeous in French. Her most recent album sticks to all English, but has a different twist. Instead of just sticking to her soothing, slower melodies, Keren Ann has decided to throw in some rougher tunes that are focused on the heavy electric guitar. I must say I'm more partial to her older stuff, but the new songs are certainly interesting.

For all you lucky Chicago folk, you now have the ability to expierence the magic that is Keren Ann live just as I did last year. She has recently announced a show at the Lakeshore Theatre, which is where I saw her lst time. It's the perfect place to see Keren Ann because it's small and intimate. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Lakeshore Theatre ( I know I wasn't last year since not many shows get booked there), it's in Boys Town about a block away from the intersectio0n of Clarke and Broadway. You can get there via the El. I highly recomend checking her out and going to the show. You can bet that I'll be there. I've posted her video for "Not Going Anywhere" (obviously off her album titled Not Going Anywhere).