Stevie Ann

Stevie Ann, whose birth name is Anna Stephanie Struijk, entered the world on June 24, 1986, in Roggel, Netherlands. From an early age she took up the guitar and began composing original material in an acoustic folk-pop vein. Her listening habits drew from established American songwriters such as Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and Carole King, alongside more recent figures including John Mayer, the Dixie Chicks, and Ryan Adams. The CNR label introduced her first full-length project, Away from Here, in 2005; the album climbed to the Top Five on the Dutch albums chart and yielded the singles “Away from Here,” “The Poetry Man,” and “You Versus Me.” Beyond its sales performance, the release earned the twenty-year-old the Essent Award, a Zilveren Harp, and the Best New Artist trophy at the 3FM Awards. Capitalizing on that reception, CNR issued an expanded edition the following year that added a second disc of acoustic recordings, among them a version of the Queen track “One Year of Love” issued as a single. For her sophomore effort, Closer to the Heart (2007), Ann again collaborated with producers Arno Guveau and Tren van Enckevort; the album featured the singles “Get Away” and “Baby Blue,” reached the Top Ten, and was followed in 2008 by the Changes EP. Her third studio album, Light Up (2010), marked her debut under Universal Music and paired her with producer Mitchell Froom, whose prior credits include Crowded House, Suzanne Vega, and Los Lobos. Light Up also entered the Dutch Top Five and was promoted by the singles “What Goes On” and “You Done Me Wrong.”