Ani DiFranco is finding hope in the middle of perilous times, and that hope is contagious.
DiFranco has forged a 30-year career as a musical lightning rod. She climbed to the top of the independent music world during the 1990s as a trailblazing singer-songwriter and founder of Righteous Babe Records. She’s never backed down from hard topics, and she’s fearlessly pursued her creative endeavors as a songwriter, author and activist without compromise.
More than 20 albums into a legendary career, DiFranco — backed by a powerful live band — will deliver a spirit of resilience and possibility during her show at the Val-Air Ballroom in Des Moines Sunday, Sept. 7. Ahead of her performance, DiFranco sat down for a conversation with Studio One's Fred Love.
As the conversation started, DiFranco was quick to point out the troubles that have beset the United States in 2025, from the political climate to the literal climate. Her songwriting addresses the gloom and doom that takes up much of the oxygen in the cultural discourse, but she said her performances don’t dwell on despair. Instead, she seeks to empower her audience to respond to those existential challenges by becoming part of the solution.
“When I talk to people after the show, what I’ve been hearing a lot is, ‘Thanks, I feel so much better. I feel hopeful. What you just did or said was contagious,’” DiFranco said.
She’s not turning a blind eye to reality though. When she scans current events, she sees “so much horrifying and unnecessary suffering everywhere you look.” She said she takes in all the division, hurt and angst of the modern world and attempts to transform it into hope, which she sees as an increasingly rare commodity and a critical form of resistance.
"Oppressors win by crushing out hope and a people’s belief in their own power," she said. DiFranco said she tries to rekindle hope, community and her audience’s sense of agency during her shows. Offering that aspirational message, especially in the midst of so much darkness, helps her make sense of the times and gives her purpose.
“It’s been feeling really good to be out there and feeling useful,” she said.
DiFranco’s band includes drums and an upright bass, both longtime staples of her live show. However, this year she invited pedal steel player Eric Haywood to tour with her, and the addition has provided new atmosphere and depth to her sound. Haywood's pedal steel has helped the band explore new sonic territory in the songs from DiFranco’s most recent album, 2024’s Unprecedented Sh!t.
She described her set lists for the tour as the product of a complex and arcane alchemy, akin to “divining the spirits.” She reviews the songs she played the last time she played a particular city, with the intention of switching up the list to offer fans a different experience. But she also considers fans who might make it to multiple dates on a single tour, adjusting the set from one night to the next to keep it fresh. Sometimes a song just feels right for a particular moment, too.
“The making of the set list is kind of a thing for me,” she said. “It takes a while and I put a lot into it.”
The bottom line is that no two performances are alike, and she draws songs from throughout her sprawling discography.
Also on the bill at the Val-Air Ballroom is Hurray for the Riff Raff, an Americana band that shares DiFranco’s socially conscious approach to writing and performing. Both DiFranco and Hurray for the Riff Raff’s Alynda Segarra find ways to capture topical issues in fiercely personal ways.
“You have to feel it. You gotta take it personally,” DiFranco said about her philosophy on writing protest songs. “You gotta make the political real personal to sing about it in a way that people want to hear. For me, that space between personal and political has never really existed. That’s where I sing from.”
DiFranco never strays far from her sense of optimism, her belief that a better future awaits, no matter how difficult the subject matter of a particular song may be. She said she plans to work on creative projects that inspire and nurture that optimism, such as a soundtrack for one of her favorite podcasts that’s being adapted into a documentary, a musical theater piece and an experimental EP. DiFranco said her curiosity drives her to try out new sounds and juggle multiple projects.
In a world that often feels defined by despair, DiFranco defiantly insists on hope — and spreading it to anyone willing to listen.
“I believe deeply within myself that this is the storm before the awakening,” DiFranco said. “I guess maybe I’m bringing that energy out with me [on tour].”
You can purchase tickets to see Ani Di Franco this Sunday at Val Air Ballroom here.
