Singer/songwriter/activist Ani DiFranco announces the fourth annual Babefest, a festival of music, community and activism taking place Sunday, November 24, 4:30-8p, at the Orpheum Theater in New Orleans. This year’s Babefest is a benefit for The Roots of Music, a New Orleans afterschool music program which busses in a hundred underserved kids, age 9-14, from forty schools all over the city, five days a week. Tickets can be found here. Roots of Music students get in free with their ID, and Roots of Music staff, students, and their families are invited to attend the educational panels free of charge.  

DiFranco’s connection to The Roots of Music goes back to the beginning of the organization twelve years ago. Derrick Tebb started the program in the aftermath of Katrina to give kids in New Orleans a place to go while the world around them slowly recovered and rebuilt itself. DiFranco notes, "The Roots of Music is a place to go after school, where you can get help with your homework, where you can get a balanced meal, where you can get camaraderie, musical knowledge, and you can become a part of something that is bigger than yourself." As an active board member, DiFranco is passionate about Roots and is committed to expanding its reach.

Babefest 2019 is centered in New Orleans and is of New Orleans. The speaker series is dubbed "For the Love of NOLA" and is designed to spark conversation between luminaries across music, literature and dance. Guests will be welcomed in as The Roots of Music performs, and keynote speaker Valerie Kaur (Revolutionary Love) will begin the event. Next up is the “Identity & Dance” panel moderated by filmmaker /educator Lily Keber, who will lead the roundtable consisting of artists Boyfriend, Arcade Fire’s Regine Chassagne, DJ Nice Rack, Dianne Honore and GIVERS’ Tif Lamson. Performances by Ani DiFranco, Tif Lamson and Princess Shaw follow the panel. Author Tanya Zabinksi (Peace, Love, Action! Everyday Acts of Goodness from A to Z) will speak to activism for all ages. Kristin Shannon will emcee the event.