Ann Driscoll is a 23-year old singer, songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist based in New York City. The principal songwriter and lead singer of indie dance-rock band MRS DANVERS, she is an active solo artist, having toured with her own band in Egypt and released critically acclaimed singles and LP’s of original, self-produced material. A sought-after session bassist and 2010 graduate of Berklee College of Music, Ann has recorded two full-length records with LA-by-way-of-Boston based bands: Black Kettle and ECHOREV. Ann’s life and music is the subject of an upcoming documentary film by acclaimed Danish filmmaker, Anders Birch.
Ann Driscoll was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on October 19, 1987. She began playing guitar and writing songs at seven, inspired by Nirvana and The Beatles. At 16, she professionally recorded her song,“Let Me Win” at the Clio-winning Cincinnati studio, Sound Images, who then asked her to record the vocals for their widely aired JTM jingle.
Her first LP, Young Tracks, digitally and physically released in August 2009, is a collection of the home and studio recordings she made from the ages of 16 to 19. The LP features a young artist delivering intimate, instantly catchy retro-pop. Ann performed all of the instruments on all eleven songs (guitars, bass, drums, piano), except for the cello on closer,“The Sinking Ship.”
That same year, Ann digitally released her electro-pop single, “Trophy F***” demonstrating her versatility as an artist capable of creating effective music in diverse genres. In 2009, Ann was selected for the roster of Heavy Rotation Records (HRR), the Berklee College of Music student label that includes Annie Clark (St. Vincent), Apollo Sunshine, and members of Passion Pit as alumni. HRR released her songs “Ringmaster” and “I Wanna Be Your Zombie” on their album, Dorm Sessions Volume 7, the former a circus anthem and the latter, a macabre pop-punk tune.
Ann performed at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, TX in 2010, appearing on the same bill as Melissa Ferrick. In December, 2010, she traveled overseas to play three festival engagements at the Live Music Festival in Cairo, Egypt, sponsored by Vodafone.
A prolific songwriter and performer, Ann has performed over 200 shows since the age of sixteen in New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Missouri, Ohio. She has performed alongside national acts such as Corin Tucker (Sleater-Kinney), The High Strung, Arizona, The Cliks, An Horse, Asobi Seksu, and Meshell Ndegeocello.
In 2009, Ann started all-female dance/rock side project, MRS DANVERS (named after the villainous maid in Hitchcock film’s Rebecca) which has headlined festivals; performed at New England colleges (Harvard, Emerson, Simmons, and Wellesley), and been the recipient of numerous accolades in the Boston alternative press.
Ann’s interest in film and theater has led her to twice film music videos: first, a viral youtube video promoting the candidacy of Ohio democrat, Vic Wulsin as well as a video for her song “I Wanna Be Your Zombie” directed by Matt Pitkoff and featuring Betsy Baker who starred in Sam Raimi’s groundbreaking horror film The Evil Dead. Ann has also scripted and composed a short musical satirizing reality television, entitled “My Fake Funeral”– informal excerpts of which can be viewed on youtube.
A sought-after session bassist, Ann has recorded with Grammy-winning producer, Don Was and joined Echo Rev, a new LA-based trio featuring Jorn Bielfeldt and Johnny Nicholson.
