Toni Price

A pillar of Austin, Texas roots music, Toni Price possessed the power to belt blues, deliver soul-tinged country-Americana with warmth, and unleash potent R&B. Following her SXSW showcase she relocated to the city, where the “Juke Joint Madonna” cultivated so devoted a regional audience that she chose never to tour extensively. For twenty-two years she also hosted the weekly “hippie hour” at the Continental Club. Between 1993 and 1997 she issued three widely praised Discovery albums—Swim Away, Hey, and Sol Power—before debuting on Antone’s Records with 1999’s Lowdown & Up. Midnight Pumpkin arrived in 2001, Born to Be Blue followed in 2003, and the blues-and-R&B set Talk Memphis appeared in 2005. Price shifted to San Diego, California in 2007 yet returned to Texas two years later; her last recording, the self-released Cherry Sunday Orchestra, surfaced in 2010.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1961, she first moved with her family to New Jersey, where professional singing began, then on to Nashville, Tennessee, winning a talent contest at age ten. During adolescence she studied blues vocalists by ear, forging a personal approach from those examples while also performing country and cutting sides in that style; her songwriting partnership with Gwil Owen likewise took root. In 1989 an appearance at Austin’s South by Southwest festival made a strong impact, her blues- and R&B-colored country phrasing reflecting an array of influences that ranged from Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin to Patsy Cline, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, and Beulah “Sippie” Wallace. The late 1990s brought multiple awards and broader recognition, though she continued to operate chiefly from Austin while playing numerous blues rooms.

After high-school performances she joined country bands around Nashville, the city where she spent most of her upbringing following the family’s move from southern New Jersey. While living there in the late 1980s she made a habit of tuning into college-station blues broadcasts. Upon settling in Austin in 1989 she absorbed guidance from figures such as club owner Clifford Antone and guitarist Derek O’Brien, who produced her second album. Soon after her initial country-bar work in Nashville she began collaborating with Gwil Owen, whose compositions figured prominently on Swim Away. Although reviewers lauded her live phrasing and recorded delivery, Price rejected the “singer/songwriter” label; in an Austin interview she stated she had never felt moved or equipped to compose. The Antone’s/Discovery catalog comprised Swim Away (1993), Hey (1995), and Lowdown & Up (1999); Midnight Pumpkin followed in summer 2001, Born to Be Blue in 2003, and Talk Memphis in 2007. She relocated to San Diego that year, returned to Austin in 2009, and in 2010 released the ironically titled Cherry Sunday Orchestra as a trio featuring pianist Riley Osborne and clarinetist Stanley Smith. Toni Price died November 22, 2024, at age 63 after suffering a brain aneurysm.