Australian-based singer /bass guitar player Anni Piper and her band will be touring the United States and making a stop at Martini's on the Rock, 4619 34th Street, Rock Island, IL on Wednesday, February 19. Anni and her band will start the show at 7:00 p.m. Admission is $7 if you are a Mississippi Valley Blues Society member, or $10 if you are not a member (membership application will be available at the door).
From the time that Anni Piper heard Paul Butterfield Blues Band playing "Born in Chicago," she knew that blues was the musical direction she wanted to head towards. That was at the age of 14, and by the time she was 19 years old, Anni had completed a Bachelor of Arts (Contemporary Music) at Southern Cross University, Lismore NSW, and was on her way to an award-winning career in music.
Anni recorded her first CD in 2004 and the album was an immediate success, winning the category of "Best New Talent" at the Australian Blues Music Awards. Her vocals were recorded on numerous CDs after that, but it wasn't long into her continuing musical path that she developed an affinity with the bass guitar, preferring to lay down a groove rather than belt out a solo.
Anni's musical ability and strong focus has since won her many achievements, including a nomination as a top five finalist in the 2010 Musicoz Awards in the Blues / Roots category, and finalist in the 2009 APRA Professional Development Awards. Anni was also a finalist for "Best Female Vocal" at the 2008 Australian Blues Music Awards and received a nomination for the "Rudy Brandsma" award at the 2007 Australian National Songwriting Contest.
