Tina Collins & Her Pony

By Ariana Kramer
Mountains have always inspired music, and today’s (Aug. 19) Taos Plaza Live! concert celebrates the mys­tique of mountains and the inner journey. Two Taos bands influenced by the bluegrass and ballads of the Appalachian Mountains, as well as the country sounds of the Western ranges, will share their talent with Taos. The free show starts at 6 p.m. at the historic Taos Plaza stage with performances by Bone Orchard and Tina Collins and Her Pony.

Tina Collins and Her Pony

Tina Collins, who grew up in Ohio, hiked the entire Appalachian trail in 2006. She started in Maine and continued to Geor­gia. The songs on her debut CD “Journey Onward” were inspired by her adventures on the trail.

“That’s where a lot of seeds were planted for songs,” Collins said. “I learned I can do anything, that we underestimate ourselves; that we underestimate how powerful we are every day. If we harness our power, we can do anything.”

Collins will perform her original songs with cellist Quetzal Jordan. Theirs is a unique brand of folk music, rooted in Appalachian bluegrass, old-time mountain tunes, and country music. The two write and sing about what they know — moun­tains, traveling, heartbreak, freedom and love — universal themes as old as the hills.

They call their act, Tina Collins and Her Pony.

“People are always asking me about the name,” said Jordan. “It was my idea. I was brainstorming on the feelings of coun­try music. The image of a pony running through fields came to me. I wanted our name to provide people with an image of freedom and simple living.”

They also wanted a name that would allow the band to grow. Collins sings and plays guitar, banjo and ukulele. Jordan plays all of these as well as cello and mandolin.

They collaborate on the songwriting. Drum­mer Jeremiah Glauser will accompany them for the Taos Plaza Live! concert as well as their show Sunday (Aug. 22), 7 p.m., at The Taos Inn, 125 Paseo del Pueblo Norte. Jor­dan and Collins anticipate that other musi­cians will join in for future performances, either as special guests or permanent band members.

Their schedule also includes an ap­­pearance at the Pride in the Park event for Gay Pride Taos, Saturday (Aug. 21).
- Copyright (c)2010 The Taos News 08/19/2010

Journey Onward Review:

With her soulful vocals and elaborate acoustic instrumentation, Tina Collins roams a heritage of American folk music as vast as the mountainous landscapes envisioned in her songs. Her aptly titled debut studio album, “Journey Onward,” takes the listener on an emotional quest, spanning the valleys of her lovesick lows and scaling the peaks of her heart’s triumphs. Sometimes solo, sometimes with cello, mandolin or washboard, Tina reinvigorates a longstanding tradition of bluegrass with her bouncy, finger-picked guitar melodies and savvy lyrical storytelling.

While many pay homage to the Big Apple or the City of Angels, Tina channels a different spiritual home altogether in her songwriting: The Appalachian and Rocky Mountains. On the opening track, “Ramble and Roam,” her sweet vocal harmonies enclose a sense of youthful rebellion; she proclaims her freedom to roam the mountainside accompanied by a foot-stomping backbeat and rumbling cello. The mellower “Lonesome Road” delves deeper into intimate issues, meditating on a difficult but necessary break-up. Meanwhile, the haunting “Finger Bones” and “Eileen” balance out the album’s saccharine charm with their discordant strings arrangements. “Journey Onward” is the story of a woman treading her own path, and she invites us to explore it with her.

-Nastia Voynovskaya, Daily Californian

http://www.dailycal.org/search.php?searchType=article&author=Nastia+Voynovskaya
- Daily Californian