Anne-Marie Akin is a folk musician in the most fundamental sense: she believes that music should be for the people. Much of her songwriting is collaborative, blending oral history, community, and song. She writes mostly on guitar, and her music and rhythms are influenced by growing up in Memphis and by the many Chicago neighborhoods she has been lucky enough to call home. Anne-Marie has composed collaborative, oral history music with Listen Up! Chicago; The Old Town School of Folk Music (Call and Response); Scrapmettle SOUL; Community Performance, Inc, and she is a teaching artist for the Carnegie Hall National Lullaby Project, helping parents create a personal lullaby for their child. She is a Jubilation Foundation Fellow, awarded for her contributions creating joy through music. Her first classical composition, Traveler Suite, is a work for orchestra and chorus, and tells the story of three Buddhist humanist pioneers and their quest for a just and peaceful world. Anne-Marie performs for both children and grownups, and leads professional development workshops for children’s librarians and preschool teachers on using music in storytime. An advocate for the freedom to read, she creates rich music and literacy experiences for young children and their families at Educare Chicago. She also teaches at The Old Town School of Folk Music.