MILLHEIM - With nearly three decades of playing music under her belt, singer-songwriter Ana Egge is no stranger to the stage.
Egge will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Elk Creek Cafe and Aleworks, 100 W. Main St.
The 35-year-old folk singer was born in Saskatchewan and grew up in North Dakota. She also has lived in New Mexico, Texas and now, Brooklyn, where she has been for the past 10 years.
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Ana Egge will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 24 at the Elk Creek Cafe and Aleworks, 100 W. Main St.
She said her music is hard to define. Drawing on diverse musical influences, she isn't trying to fit into a specific genre, rather, aspiring to develop her own sound - "Oh, that sounds like an Ana Egge song," she said, describing her hopes of being the musical influence for future musicians.
"I would say that my first love is that kind of personal, story-telling American songbook - folk, country (type of music)," she said.
Egge received her first guitar at age 7 and began writing at 15.
She also plays the mandolin, fiddle, drums and piano.
"I was kind of obsessed with the guitar as a little kid," she said. "My dad had a guitar that we weren't allowed to play with or touch and it kind of garnered the desire to reach what was forbidden. He would bring it out and have us (she and her siblings) make up songs about being kids. I thought it was a kind of special magical thing that made that happen."
She gathers her inspiration for songwriting all around her - what she sees and the people she meets all are helping her tell stories through song.
"I'm really moved by strangers that I meet and stories that touch me," she said. "It's all about my ability to know what's going on around me and listen to people. [I] watch how the trees are bending together and they look so pretty in the park. The work is to observe what's going on and then take the time to write that down and look for the melody that fits those ideas."
Touring often, Egge has played numerous venues across the country and also in Canada, Holland, Southern Europe and Scandinavia, to name a few.
"I love being on the road up to a certain point," she said. "It can be really fun meeting new people and seeing things. I like not knowing what's going to happen every day. But after a few weeks it can get tiring."
Although she says it is difficult to maintain a healthy diet and sleep schedule while on the road and she loves to return home to the New York skyline. But after she is home for a few weeks, she can't wait to go back out on the road again.
"I feel like it's (touring) what completes the circle - started by writing, then recording and playing it for people," she said. "Getting people's live reaction and response to the songs, it's just like the missing link."
Egge has recorded seven albums, the latest, "Bad Blood," was released Aug. 23 on Ammal Records and recorded at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, N.Y.
"The whole thing was pretty great," Egge said of the recording process. "It was amazing having him (Helms) shuffle into the session."
On the road, Egge performs with a band, as well as solo.
She said it's fun touring with a band because she gets to do a mixture of performances. The band can take a break and she can perform a few songs solo.
She said one of her favorite things about music is that when you hear a song, and you really like it, it becomes your song.
"You're hearing it and you're singing it and you own it," she said. "It's like this magical thing that happens."
Egge's music can be heard and tour dates can be viewed at www.anaegge.com.
