Ann Vriend
"AV"

Canadian AV (Ann Vriend) is a two-time Maple Blues Award songwriting recipient, an Edmonton Music Award and Alberta Centennial Award recipient, and has sold nearly 30,000 albums off-the-stage in her under-the-radar yet critically acclaimed international career. Her sound is simultaneously reminiscent of the vintage, rootsy, soul style of Stax Records and Muscle Shoals recordings, while also contemporary and commercially viable, not to mention lyrically politically poignant. AV has been hailed by NOW Magazine as a musician who "turns soul on its head, belting out delicate introspection in the form of fire”. She is one of the only independent artists in recent history to break into the Top 100 Pop Charts of commercial radio in Germany, the world’s 4th largest music market; even taking the #1 spot on one of their largest stations, Bayern 1. Aside from the commercial sphere, AV’s music consistently receives spins on community and campus radio across Canada, where currently her new album sits at #2 on the esteemed listener-supported CKUA; and she has been the guest on such nationally favourite radio shows such as "Vinyl Cafe", and Holger Petersen's "Saturday Night... more...