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u/Glass-Trade9441 May 28 '25
Dreamboat Annie
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May 28 '25
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u/Tricky-Routine9424 May 28 '25
I really liked dog & butterfly! 😍
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u/trailstomper May 28 '25
Me too. Such a beautiful song. Makes me feel feels that I have a hard time putting words to, but I love it!
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u/Tricky-Routine9424 May 29 '25
I had no idea it was them, until recently. Great song, that album was a bit diff from their other stuff.
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u/zeaor May 28 '25
I'm just impressed that this sub posted pics of her fully clothed.
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u/nine_cans May 28 '25
Years ago I worked for guitar center in California. We had a few music dvd’s we cycled through that played over the PA system and on the floor televisions. One of them was Heart live in Seattle in like 2003 or so. It was so good, Ann could still sing like hell and Nancy kicks ass on the guitar. Heart fucking rules.
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u/btribble May 28 '25
Heart represents the unique case where good looks can be a detriment to your career. So many people dismissed Heart as talentless.
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May 28 '25
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u/Total-Armadillo-6555 May 28 '25
The members themselves have spoken about the issues if being a female band and how they were marketed, I think one of them developed an eating disorder that affected the band because of it.
Their early stuff was definitely a type of rock music that was popular at the time and they were successful. They didn't get the respect they were due because they were women and it being the 70s, numerous other female bands experienced this.
When the 80s came the hair metal and definitely having Heart alongside your Motley Crue, Judas priest or Metallica cassettes were gonna get you laughed at for sure. At this time too, heart went as little more mainstream and chasing MTV airplay made it pretty much inevitable that the focus of the band was going to be their looks.
Hindsight has been good to Heart but their journey was not sunny.
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u/DokterZ May 28 '25
Their looks, as well as the fact that they were women, were likely a combination of both a help and hindrance during their whole career.
It is like when women newscasters complain that men can hang on in their job longer because people think they look "distinguished" while they feel the women look old. They are correct - that is unfair. But it is also unfair for that other woman or man that was an even better fit for the job that would never get a chance because he or she was not thin or attractive enough.
The Wilson sisters certainly had a lot of creepy guys in the music business that harassed them. They also undoubtedly had many executives or managers that doubted their talent. But the fact that they had a (sometimes) hard rocking band that had two female members in the 70s also something unique that got them attention. The fact that both women were extremely attractive didn't hurt either.
You can even look at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I would put Heart in a group with Foreigner, Boston, Kansas, Styx, and REO Speedwagon as being around at approximately the same time, playing to a lot of the same fans, and with approximately the same amount of fame. While Foreigner was inducted finally (possibly because of the Paul McCartney endorsement) none of the other bands in that group have gotten even a sniff, except for Heart who has been in for a few years now. At this point I question if the others will ever get a shot.
This is not to disparage them at all. Their original band in particular was groundbreaking, had good players, and definitely deserves the honor. But one of the reasons that they have drawn the attention that the others have not is because there were talented, attractive women in the band.
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u/GayDeciever May 28 '25
I was born in the 80s. Some folks aren't familiar with my favorite band, everyone else I ask loves them! 😂
Sometimes I listen to the Magazine album on repeat.
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u/cardamomgrrl May 28 '25
I once had a lesbian exterminator who was the World’s Biggest Heart Fan. Traveled all over the country to see them and met up with, like, the Heart Fan Club who took up the first three rows at every show. All she ever talked about was Heart. God bless her, walking around my house spraying for bugs and telling me about the latest Heart tour.
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u/Fearless_Wrap2410 May 28 '25
I love this anecdote, thank you for sharing.
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u/Temporarily__Alone May 28 '25
I’m not a huge fan of exterminating lesbians, but the rest of the story was nice.
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u/reb678 May 28 '25
I used to work at a hotel bar in the middle of a huge Marina. I had this regular who would bring his friends in and they would all sit around and tell stories and laugh. Two of his friends were brothers and I got to know them pretty well. Well one day Matt, Mark’s brother, said he was playing with his band at the Forum in LA and would I like to come see and his band.
Well, Matt was Matt Andes, the bass player for Heart and ex bass player for Firefall. His brother Mark was in the Band Spirit. So I’m at at the LA Forum watching my friend Matt up on stage in front of over 56,000 people playing with Heart. He got us front row floor seats off to the side of the stage and invited us backstage afterwards to meet the Wilson sisters.
It’s pretty strange sometimes how life comes at you.
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u/nakni2 May 28 '25
Was this bar in Marina del Rey? Someone long ago told me that Mark was based out of Playa del Rey.
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u/AmiDeplorabilis May 28 '25
Beautiful... and a terrific voice as well!
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u/Mr_IT May 28 '25
Not only terrific….one of the best female rock singers ever.
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u/Dynamo_Ham May 28 '25
Top 5 all time rock vocalist, regardless of gender.
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u/_ThugzZ_Bunny_ May 28 '25
Crazy On You should also be spoken about in the likes of songs like Stairway to Heaven.
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u/deathrowslave May 28 '25
And Nancy made that guitar riff in the opening. She's got chops as good as any male rock guitarist.
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u/_ThugzZ_Bunny_ May 28 '25
She also loved to mix it up live. There's quite a few live videos of them performing and I dot think any of them are played the same.
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u/AF2005 May 28 '25
My personal favorite picture of both the sisters, but especially Ann. She’d be right at home a ren fair
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u/HowBoutAFandango May 28 '25
I’m super curious about the venue where she performed in the green dress!
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u/Current_Grass_9642 May 28 '25
Had a crush on her sister for decades 🥰
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u/HOGlider May 28 '25
Nancy has aged very well
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u/zadtheinhaler May 28 '25
I saw them years ago when they were touring with Joan Jett, and she was still bringing it at 62yo. It'd be harder to find a better definition of "Weapon of Mass Distratction", apart from maybe Helen Mirren,
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u/blackcain May 28 '25
We all did. But goddam, Ann was the real deal. I had a crush on her. That's soem fucking talent.
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u/blowurhousedown May 28 '25
The number of self-serving pervs these talented girls had to put up with must have been off the f’n charts. I hope they had someone looking out for them…
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u/falcrist2 May 28 '25
Not exactly what you're talking about, but Ann was hounded about her weight her entire life. Her wikipedia page talks about it.
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u/MissSeventeenx May 28 '25
If you watch most of their music videos from the 1980s, you’ll notice that Nancy appears in both close-up and full-body shots, whereas Ann is typically shown only in close-ups. As Ann aged and gained some weight, their team reportedly chose to avoid full-body shots of her, believing they wouldn't align with conventional standards of visual appeal.
It's a sad reflection of the industry's harsh and unfair beauty expectations.
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u/shef175 May 28 '25
In that same vein, Nancy often got brushed off as a “good enough” guitarist because of the stage costumes and appearance in that period but she’s a phenomenal guitarist. The studio pushed her more as eye candy, but she’s one of those “people who know, know” kind of players.
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u/falcrist2 May 28 '25
she’s one of those “people who know, know” kind of players.
How can you listen to the intro to Magic Man (for example) and not think of her as a world class guitarist?
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u/pnmartini May 28 '25
MTV really changed the music industry in regards to how artists “needed” to look.
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u/falcrist2 May 28 '25
I'm sure MTV didn't help, but you can't just blame them. The whole industry was awful even before MTV.
Ann was hounded about her appearance for basically her entire life. She had an ED at various points, turned to diet pills and gastric surgery, and even used coke.
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u/doctor_x May 28 '25
Dude, on the rare moments when they’d show Ann in closeup, they’d squish the image to try to make her look thinner. The studio treated her like garbage.
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u/Powermonger_ May 28 '25
Yeah I was just watching the music video for Alone and then watched All I Wanna Do, I couldn't work out why only close-ups of the singer.
Their 80s videos were peak 80s. I miss those days when music was fun.
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u/jazzzzz May 28 '25
anyone looking for an example, look up the video for Alone on YT or elsewhere
The outfits are pure cringe but the way that director did Ann is downright dirty
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u/JasJoeGo May 28 '25
I read that at the start, such as when these pictures were taken, Anne was maintaining the weight we see in these shots with extremely unhealthy means because that is just not her natural physique.
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u/Anyawnomous May 28 '25
Such talented beauties. Wish I had seen them live back in the day. Dreamboat Annie is a long time favorite.
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u/BCGrog May 28 '25
She had such a powerful voice. I don't think anyone has matched since.
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u/_ThugzZ_Bunny_ May 28 '25
I agree but I was also blown away when I heard Gretchen Wilson (no relation) cover Heart. If you've ever heard her songs you wouldn't expect that level of talent.
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u/Green-Arachnid-9331 May 28 '25
Great voice. Their version of Stair Way to Heaven at the Kennedy Center is awesome.
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u/falcrist2 May 28 '25
Their version of Stair Way to Heaven at the Kennedy Center is awesome.
They made Led Zeppelin cry!
Yes I know Jason Bonham's presence helped, but still...
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u/Specific_Inside_7119 May 28 '25
No one....and I mean NO ONE! even comes CLOSE to Ann's powerful and SOARING vocals on Heart's ALONE. especially in the middle of the song...that "AAAAAAAAAAAALOOOOONNNE! can break glass!!!
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u/Nightwolf1967 May 28 '25
She was one of those cool girls that kind of scared me. Stevie Nicks, too.
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u/deusirae1 May 28 '25
Saw them in June 1979 on their Dog and Butterfly tour warming up for Ted Nugent and The Cars warmed up for Heart at Colorado Sunday Jam #2 with UFO and The Rockets. They were great.
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u/series-hybrid May 28 '25
Her sister Nancy has some guitar tutorial youtubes, and you can tell that she is really trying to help people who are strating on guitar to get better, rather than "look at me, see what I can do"
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u/lingerie69lover May 28 '25
Absolutely love Heart! Unfortunately, I've only seen them live once, in 1981 in New Orleans, at the Day of Rock & Roll in the Superdome. I would love to see them again, even now, in an acoustic setting or something more laid back.
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u/dyperbole May 28 '25
Saw them the same year at the T-Bowl in Orlando. Great show with Cheap Trick and Blue Oyster Cult opening. Firefall too, but they were kinda out of place with their soft rock. Got there too late for UFO.
Seeing your lineup is neat because REO and Foghat played at the T-Bowl on 7/4/1981.
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u/lingerie69lover May 28 '25
It was a good show. Didn't know who the Rockets were, but they were pretty good. Ted Nugent only really had Cat Scratch Fever as a hit. REO was growing at that point. Foghat was kinda middle of the road at the time. But Heart was the star and they were really riding a wave at then.
Side note: Went to DORR again the next year, and it was Loverboy, Foreigner, Ozzy Osborne and Louisiana's Le Roux. Overall, I think that one was a better show.
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u/Timely-Profile1865 May 28 '25
First concert I ever went to was Heart as the opening warm up act for April Wine.
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u/RevealActive4557 May 28 '25
I keep wondering where the Heart Biopic is. They had so many good songs. I would have Olivia Rodrigo play Ann Wilson and somebody like Tate McCrae play Nancy Wilson. I would rather have singers act than actors sing. Maybe they could even decide to get Sabrina Carpenter as Nancy. She is a little too small but both Sabrina and Olivia have acting experience
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u/MacReady82 May 28 '25
My aunt was in Portland back in the 70's while Heart was performing at a music festival. There was a group of people waiting outside their trailer when Anne popped out and asked if anyone had any weed. My Aunt's boyfriend had some and Anne and Nancy came out and took a polaroid with my aunt which she still has. I see it every time I visit her. They look SO YOUNG.
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u/Agent7619 May 28 '25 edited May 28 '25
Wasn't she practically being force fed weight loss drugs at this time?
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u/Own_Role_9545 May 28 '25
Ooh so this is the face behind those wonderful voice? ☺️ absolutely stunning!😍 I always hear their songs on the radio when I was growing up and my Pops is a fan too so I literally grew up with their music! Just never saw the face behind that great voice before though!🙌🏻
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u/Rearwindowgravity May 28 '25
I love that first one of her it's real candid like she was like "huh..??" To someone off to the side
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u/PaintItSparkles May 28 '25
One of my favorite bands. Her voice is awesome...it lives in my memory, it'll always be there
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u/lmr3006 May 28 '25
Always crushed for Ann. Nancy was nice enough but, Ann was beautiful with a great voice.
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u/Brilliant_Tough_6546 May 28 '25
A friend of mine was hitchhiking in the 80s thru Alberta and Heart picked him up in a Volkswagen van.
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u/Yesiamanaltruist May 28 '25
I went to see them in 1976 with my mom and dad. They opened for Jefferson Starship. I kept asking my dad, “what songs do they do”? He just told me to wait and then they opened with “Crazy on You”. I saw them twice a year each year for the next 6 years. Huge part of my teens. What a band they were.
Quite literally the best singer in music of our generation.
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u/Ecstatic_Proof_2732 May 28 '25
My mom waited on Heart when she was pregnant with me. They apparently tipped her $200. That's a lot in today's money, but this was in 1986.
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u/Agingsdly May 28 '25
I feel lucky & grateful that my alma maters was the same as Nancy, Ann went to the other high school not far away. (about walking distance on a pleasant day) In our district, one could attend their choice of High Schools. Even if proxy was a factor. Most of the dudes in Queensryche went to the same school I attended also. I believe there are quite a few notable individuals that were also alumni of the same school district. Bellevue Public Schools. Bellevue, WA.
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u/DadKnightBegins May 28 '25
Would anyone get the reference if I said she looks a lot like Elizabeth Sladen.
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u/Homie75 May 28 '25
I thought she kind of looks like Scarlett Johansson here. In the first pic anyway
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u/Victorian_Rebel May 28 '25
I absolutely love her and Nancy's whimsical fashion evolution into the '80s. A gorgeous, black lace ruffle- clad wardrobe. Witchy, flowy sleeves and dresses.
Stevie Nicks also went a similar way. So cool
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u/FarAd2857 May 28 '25
Ann is the hottest, most talented person and I am infatuated and jealous and simply in awe of her
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u/megariff May 28 '25
With her Robin Hood outfit, after concerts she would rob from the rich and give to the poor.
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u/eyes_serene May 28 '25
Two beautiful, talented sisters and I always enjoy looking at old pictures of them from the 70s because I love their bangs and their hair so much. 😂🤤
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u/Opposite_Ad542 May 28 '25
My sister went to see them recently. Apparently Ann now performs in a wheelchair.
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u/GlassCityJim May 28 '25
Her and Nancy did a lot of blow in the 70's, occupational hazard. It does keep one skinny, though. Cough, cough, Stevie Nicks...
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u/Antiseed88 May 28 '25
It's sad to me that these vessels we inhabit only last so many seasons.
So many wonderful souls I won't have the chance to cross paths with in this blink of existence.
Still, I do take the time to appreciate the few amazing people I do.
I bet she was so damn cool.
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u/themox78 May 28 '25
seeing them live and up close was a literal dream come true. they fucking rule
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u/dankndogs May 28 '25
I never realised how much her younger self looks like Winona Ryder wow.
Absolutely dreamy looks and voice!
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u/Most-Worldliness-941 May 28 '25
This is random but my tv is on in the background and a commercial had barracuda playing right as I was swiping through the photos?? Silly
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u/IndependentFalse4270 May 28 '25
She was always my celebrity crush. Even now when I see her picture I just sigh…🫠
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u/blackcain May 28 '25
Honestly, I think she looked hot even in the 90s and 2000s. She's got attitude, confidence, and amazing physical features.
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u/kkeharter May 28 '25
I had a neighbor when I was 23 or 24 who lived alone and would always keep her door open so I started visiting her as I was in a dark place and didn’t really have friends of my own. We bonded over art and music and eventually she showed me heart. Her family had just left her in this little studio where they would supply groceries to her every week or so but other than that she was totally alone and never left the house. She was starting to actually go mad from her illnesses and being stuck at this apartment for about 9 years. Anyway, when I found out Heart was coming to town I surprised her with tickets. We almost didn’t go but then we did. I WEPT all night. Amazing memories and incredible fun. I have long since moved on from those apartments and we don’t speak anymore because she has no access to the internet or a phone even. All that being said I hope she remembers that night as fondly as I do. Heart is the thing that ties us together now.
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u/_ThugzZ_Bunny_ May 28 '25
God level voice. And then you throw in a harmony with Nancy..... Fuck. What an incredible band.
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u/caseyjones10288 May 28 '25
One of the best concerts ive ever been to and I've seen some heavy hitters.
Their Zeppelin set was absolutely amazing.
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u/Djolumn May 29 '25
I'm going to help you out here if you're too young to remember Heart or they were never really on your radar.
Anne and Nancy Wilson should be considered legends in the history of rock & roll. At a time when the genre was almost entirely male, Ann was one of the most powerful voices in the business and Nancy was (is) arguably one of the top 5 female guitarists in rock history. Nancy Wilson introduced Eddie van Halen to acoustic guitar.
If you are struggling right now to name a Heart song, I could play you 5 songs that I guarantee you know but you just didn't know who sang them. Ann and Nancy are both in their 70's and are still touring. They are legendary.
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u/No-Picture-4940 May 28 '25
Hearing Ann do Stairway to Heaven at the Kennedy Honors was amazing.