Riley Ann headlines at last Haus of Music

Campus Programming and Relations gets University of Wisconsin-Platteville alumna to perform

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Samantha Hoppert

Riley Ann performs an alto saxophone solo during her performance at the Haus of Music.

As the semester comes to a close, so do many Campus Programming and Relations events. This includes the series of performances ran by CPR called the Haus of Music.

On Thursday, Dec. 8 the last Haus of Music was held. The performer was University of Wisconsin-Platteville alumna Riley Ann. Ann graduated from UW-Platteville with three majors, but never thought she would become a full time musician. She was going to attend graduate school, but decided against it. She was excited to come back to Wisconsin because to her, Wisconsin is home, even though she is originally from Boulder, CO. The crowd was happy to see her back “home” as well.

Even though Ann has performed for a few years now, she doesn’t call herself a musician; she calls herself a one-woman band. Ann plays a variety of instruments which she displayed at her Haus of Music performance. She played the alto saxophone, banjo, bass drum, cymbals and two types of guitar. In addition to these instruments, Ann also sang and layered different sounds together with a device called a loop pedal.

Ann performed mostly original songs from her two albums, such as “Bloodhound” and “Supernova.”  However, she also covered “You’re the One that I Want” from the musical Grease and “Hallelujah” by the late Leonard Cohen. Even though she performed both originals and covers, it seemed the crowd enjoyed just about everything she played.

Mostly friends and past professors of Ann attended the show. She mentioned throughout her set how happy she was to be performing for both new and old friends. Ann also mentioned that both her first album Endless Beginnings and her second album Bloodhounds are available for purchase on various online stores including iTunes.

Even though the crowd was small, the last Haus of Music for the semester was liked by all who attended. For those that missed the show or want to learn more about Riley Ann and her performances, they can check out her website rileyannsound.com/music.html.