Tori Evans’ debut album, Sonder, is coming out September 1, 2021. There will be a release party at 7th Street Entry.
We got to speak with Tori and her band (Jon Edington, Marty Scalici and Kirian Kmiecik) about the album and the upcoming show. It’s fun to see how they lift each other up. We learned that Tori has been writing music since she was seven years old but decided on a career in music on a school field trip where the class performed on the stage of the 7th Street Entry. Jon was her teacher at the time! And now they’ve come full circle to her debut album release happening on the same stage.
The album is like a soundtrack; the songs tell a story, evoke a feeling and have a definite flow. Tori is a strong songwriting. She has anger-inspired songs that you belt out in your car alone (Cut Me Loose) and songs that are motivational (Working on Me). Tori is a young woman, she writes with the passion of a young woman yet somehow also have wisdom of someone with more experience. Musically there are anthems and gentle songs. It’s a showcase for her versatile voice. Tori has captured the contrasting moods and speeds of the internal monologue many of us dance to daily. While her stories are not necessarily my stories, it still feels like a soundtrack to my day. She has found a way display the ethos of sonder in music.
Days after the release party, some bandmembers will be heading off to college. (Toni goes to Berkeley.) That is going to make the release even more special. And I think Tori will be one of those artists that you’ll brag in the future about seeing her at 7th Street back in the day.
Mostly Minnesota 