Tonina
Tonina is a Los Angeles-based vocalist, bassist and songwriter from St. Louis, Missouri who performs her original music along with her arrangements of covers in Spanish, English, and Italian.
Tonina comes from a family of musicians who exposed her to various music styles ranging from Funk, Soul, and Jazz to Classical, Folk and Rock. She was raised in St. Louis coming from Southern Black and Sicilian backgrounds. All these components have given her an unparalleled musical scope playing many genres yet making each her own. Her sense of rhythm, melody, extraordinary voice and song interpretation, make her performances a thrilling experience for listeners.
After graduating from Berklee College of Music, earning two degrees, Tonina opened for Grammy-Award winning artist, Lalah Hathaway in St. Louis, travelled to perform at the Catania Jazz Festival in Sicily, and was named one of NPR’s favorite new artists of 2018 and then listed as one of NPR’s top 10 artists of 2018. Her interpretation of “Historia de un Amor” was placed on former president Barack Obama’s top songs list of 2018. In 2019, she signed to American record label, Empire. She performs with her band in Los Angeles and around the world.
<< Back to Bronzeville SessionsTonina comes from a family of musicians who exposed her to various music styles ranging from Funk, Soul, and Jazz to Classical, Folk and Rock. She was raised in St. Louis coming from Southern Black and Sicilian backgrounds. All these components have given her an unparalleled musical scope playing many genres yet making each her own. Her sense of rhythm, melody, extraordinary voice and song interpretation, make her performances a thrilling experience for listeners.
After graduating from Berklee College of Music, earning two degrees, Tonina opened for Grammy-Award winning artist, Lalah Hathaway in St. Louis, travelled to perform at the Catania Jazz Festival in Sicily, and was named one of NPR’s favorite new artists of 2018 and then listed as one of NPR’s top 10 artists of 2018. Her interpretation of “Historia de un Amor” was placed on former president Barack Obama’s top songs list of 2018. In 2019, she signed to American record label, Empire. She performs with her band in Los Angeles and around the world.