An evening honouring the life and works of legendary singer/songwriter Janis Ian. The event will feature Ian discussing her life and career as well as performances of her work by friends and colleagues.
Ian wrote her breakthrough hit, “Society’s Child,” at the age of 14 in 1965. It was the first charted song to speak about interracial romance and marked both her first Top 20 hit and first gold record. In 1966, Ian paved the way again by becoming the first female artist to write every track on her debut album (“Janis Ian”), long before Joni Mitchell or Carole King did. She continued her fearless journey by becoming one of the first gay pop stars to come out in the early 1990s and by championing free downloads of her music back when the industry fought hard against it. Known for such evergreen songs as “Jesse,” “Stars,” “Fly Too High”, and “At Seventeen,” her album Between the Lines was a five-time GRAMMY nominee, again breaking records by becoming the first female artist to have that many nominations for an entirely self-penned album. She went on to expand her career internationally, with #1 albums in the Netherlands, Ireland, UK, S. Africa, Australia, and Japan, where Aftertones stayed in the #1 position for a stunning six months. Her songs have been covered by artists as diverse as Celine Dion, Nina Simone, Hugh Masekela, Bette Midler, John Mellencamp, Glen Campbell, Cher, and Violet Grohl (accompanied by her Foo Fighter father Dave Grohl).
Hailed by The Guardian as “sensational” Janis Ian’s latest album, The Light at the End of the Line, sadly marks the last album of new songs and recordings by Ian, who is now unable to tour as a vocalist due to a virus that created scarring on her vocal cords. The GRAMMY nominated album marks the icon’s 10th nomination in eight categories over the past six decades, a feat held only by an impressive few including Quincy Jones and Glen Campbell. She’s taken home the coveted trophy twice, first in 1975 for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female for “At Seventeen” and the second in 2013 for Best Spoken Word Album for her autobiography, Society’s Child: My Autobiography. In 2023, the album led to Ian winning the International Folk Music Award’s Artist of the Year which also coincided with the organization honouring her with their Lifetime Achievement Award.