BIGSOUND Artist Profile: Ann Vriend

Band Name: Ann Vriend

Member/Role: Singer/songwriter/keyboardist

Hometown: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 

Has the party side of the music industry been all you were hoping for so far in your career? Don't know if I was hoping it to be anything LOL — that's not what I'm in it for. Having said that I've seen my fair share of some good parties, and free beer. 

What is the best thing that's happened to you/your band so far? We just got an endorsement from Yamaha so that's cool. In Germany we played and stayed at a castle Napoleon stayed at. Recorded at the Hit Factory in NYC where some of my heroes recorded.

Are your ambitions mainly artistic or commercial? Oh man, definitely artistic, otherwise by now I think I'd be way more successful, haha. Looking for a non-awkward way to meld them together — I think it's finally coming together.

Is your music best rendered in the studio or the live realm? Hmmm, that's a tough one. We're really known for our live show but on the other hand the album is getting a lot of attention and reviews so I wanna say it's a tie, LOL.  

If you could have any act past or present join you on your next tour who would you tap? Oh man! Ray Charles. Aretha. The Funk Brothers. Radiohead. Louis Armstrong. The Band. The Dap-Kings. Can I have more words allowed?

What industry lessons would you like to take away from the BIGSOUND conference? How to do business in a way that works with my personality and artistic goals so that it's fun AND actually gets me from A to B. Outside the box kinda stuff.

What acts are you looking forward to checking out at the BIGSOUND showcase? Sex On Toast sounds pretty fun. The John Steel Singers too. Also wanna check out Ngaiire. And saw Mojo Juju a long time ago — I like.

Why should people come and see you from amongst the many cool bands at BIGSOUND? We have been selling out of merch at our live shows because people love it so much. I'm super proud of my band; kinda can't wait for Aussie crowds to hear us together.