Musical Guest: Tonya Song

Fur the More would like to welcome our 2023 Musical Guest: Tonya Song!

Tonya Song: Singer-Songwriter, Composer, Native Activist

Socials:

Bandcamp: tonyasong.bandcamp.com

Twitter: @tonya_song

Bio:

Tonya Song is a singer-songwriter, pianist, and composer from Arizona/New Mexico, USA. She has performed in many different genres and is classically-trained. She has been a percussionist in several orchestras and chamber ensembles, as well as classical piano. She also has performed in various other genres such as folk rock, country, mariachi, cumbia, Native music, and more. She is still actively a powwow singer and drummer and has sung at Native American powwows in various parts of the country.

As a songwriter, Tonya takes inspiration from her cultural backgrounds being American Indian (O’otham) and Mexican. Her songs speak of her experiences in this world as an Indigenous and transgender person. She believes songs speak in greater depth about the human experiences than can words alone. She prefers writing lyrics about the experiences of the marginalized than of mundane topics mainstream music tends to be focused on. Inspired by musicians such as Buffy St Marie and Frank Waln, she speaks of life experiences while mixing Native styles of music with mainstream modern styles of music.

Outside of music, Tonya has done education work on Native American representation, doing lectures and speaking engagements. She has done activism work in Native land and resource rights disputes in the southwest, the great plains, and the pacific northwest. She continues to work toward spreading awareness of issues that the Native community faces in the US & Canada through various platforms.