Artists:Ann Zimmerman

She sings the prairie into universal language, with her piano, guitar and that wonderful voice breezing its way into your heart. Kansas singer Ann Zimmerman examines the adventure, joy, tragedy and comedy of life, especially life on the windy plains. Just out with her third recording, “Blue Wild Indigo,” and winner of the 2002 and 2003 Flint Hills Gathering songwriting contests, she has taken her Kansas style to New York, Seattle, Boston, Dallas and Alaska and turned each audience into her backup choir. Blending old and new folksongs, cabaret numbers, and her own creations, she masterfully grabs your ear and soon she has your mind, heart and funny bone as well.

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. She plays 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. Her new album as well as her earlier recordings, "Canned Goods" and "Love & Weather," are available on compact disc and cassette.

Ann grew up in Salina 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, president of a Kansas environmental organization, and a long-time legal aid lawyer. She now lives near Salina on a horse-boarding farm and divides her time between legal mediation and music. ...from Ann's site.