Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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EGGE, Ana

(b c.1977, Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada) Singer, songwriter and guitarist. Her parents were homesteading hippies, who painted their 1969 Dodge van green with a roller and decorated it with Grateful Dead stickers. They rented a house in the tiny town of Ambrose, North Dakota, where they farmed; when Egge was about 12 they opened an alternative school in Silver City, New Mexico. At about 18 Egge was encouraged to go to Austin, Texas, where she made a cassette demo of her songs in a smoky voice that, fans said, belied her tender years, and won a songwriting contest. Asleep At The Wheel's drummer Dave Sanger produced her first album. She relocated to Brooklyn, playing in New York clubs (and at Lilith Fair), widening her network of musician fans, and over the years opened shows for Shawn Colvin, Richard Thompson, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Jane Siberry, Iris DeMent, George Jones and Joan Armatrading. Her voice was heard in the soundtracks of Baby Dance ‘98 (a TV movie that also featured music by Terry Allen), and Happy Texas ‘99.

Like most musicians, she was on the road a lot; in October 2005 she was playing gigs in three towns in Texas, and in November she was committed to playing every Tuesday night in New York. Her albums were River Under The Road ‘97 on Lazy S.O.B.; Mile Marker ’99 on Grace; 101 Sundays 2000 in Canada (soon out of print); Out Past The Lights 2005 on Grace/ParkinSong was produced by bassist Jason Mercer, who worked for Ani DiFranco; some of its proceeds will go to research into Parkinson's Disease.