Meet Ann Torralba | Family Music Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ann Torralba and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ann, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The most important factor behind my success as a family music artist is that I really believe in my heart and soul that music brings joy to people. When I walk into a room with my guitar, I see smiles and I see happiness. I see kids and their families celebrating life by singing, dancing and more together. There’s been a lot of studies about how music releases dopamine which brings pleasure to people. Music supports positive social-emotional health. There have also been studies to show that going to hear live music increases your feelings of well-being by 20 percent. Music makes people feel good. Whether kids are listening to me perform live or listening to my 7 Family Music albums, I hope that they are feeling connected, inspired, nurtured, and loved!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have been a nationally-touring family music artist for 18 years. I have 7 award-winning albums. I am also a teaching artist, a former Chicago Public School teacher, a mom, a daughter of Filipino immigrants, an instructor at the Old Town School of Folk Music, and a social rights activist. Authenticity has been a consistent factor throughout my 18 year career. Whether it’s doing a public performances, creating a music video or doing a professional development workshop for teachers or librarians, representing myself in a way that feels genuine keeps me passionate about my craft throughout the years. A few years into my career, I realized that my voice and my perspective as a Chicago-born, Filipina-American was unique to me but yet relatable by so many. While lately the family music scene has gotten to be more diverse, in the early days of my career, there weren’t many women that looked like me that were fronting bands at major festivals or creating music that was played on national kids radio shows. As a former teacher, it’s important to me that kids get to see and hear lots of different perspectives so they can connect and be inspired in their own lives and communities.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Luckily, I live in an amazing city with so much to do. Chicago has so many neighborhoods and different cultures represented throughout the city. If we were just to walk around the neighborhoods alone to discover yummy authentic food, we could go to Devon Street for Indian food, Chinatown for Chinese food, Greektown for Greek food, Uptown for Vietnamese food, Albany Park for some incredible Middle-eastern food and more! We could walk around the Andersonville neighborhood and go to Lost Larson Baker, Women and Children First bookstore, Kopi coffee shop, Taste of Lebanon for some inexpensive middle-eastern lunch and then have a drink at the Belgium bar, Hopleaf. At night, we could see some music at Sleeping Village, Empty Bottle, Old Town School of Folk Music, or the Hideout. We could go see some Comedy at Logan Square Improv. Get a drink at quirky neighborhood bar like Consignment Lounge. There’s also even nature in the city. We could take a walk on the 606, an elevated 3 mile walking and biking trail made from an abandoned railroad tracks. Sometimes, Chicago gets a bad wrap but if you spend just 24 hours here with someone who loves the city like me, I’m sure you’ll fall in love with it too!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’m going to dedicate my shoutout to my friend Suzi Shelton. Suzi Shelton is a talented Brooklyn family music artist. Over the 12 years of our friendship, she has always encouraged and supported my musical career and I hope that I have done the same for her.. We have performed all over the US including Lollapalooza, Wolftrap, NYC Brookfield Place, and more. I have also guest appeared on her virtual show “Sing with Suzi” She has guest appeared on my songs as I have hers. These songs “Welcome Spring” and “Spread More Love” have both been played on Sirius XM Kids Place Live. In 2024, I am excited because we are collaborating on new album together. There were times that Suzi believed in me more than I believed myself but I didn’t realize it at the time. I am grateful to Suzi for her knowledge and inspiration as one children’s musician to another.

Website: https://littlemissann.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/littlemissannmusic/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/littlemissann/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/notifications

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hi.little.miss.ann/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCep18av4pWWK8mIq4Pw0lpw

Image Credits
The picture with. the blue guitar: A Little Photo Studio