Tina & Her Pony

“Tina & Her Pony deliver a gentle folk music that inexorably swells into a powerful wave. The songs themselves carry a gentle wisdom that invigorates the listener.  Tina & Her Pony truly commit to a kind of chamber folk that feels as timeless as it does timely.” – Rachel Cholst, NO DEPRESSION

In a soundscape rich in folk and americana offerings Tina and Her Pony (Tina Collins and Quetzal Jordan) stand out with their clarity and freshness. Their harmonies, arrangements, lyrics and captivating vocals combine to create something greater than the sum of the pieces which, taken individually are deceptively straightforward. Their talents are honed sharper on their latest release, "Champion" (2017), which chronicles complex emotional landscapes with the kind of wisdom and honesty required from roots music in its most distilled and cherished forms.

But Tina and Quetzal have been upending expectations and convention from early on. Tina’s distinctive vocals and songwriting are the product of both a conservatory education and her singular taste in female folk artists like Gillian Welch, Joni Mitchell and Kate Wolf. Quetzal, a Canadian-Guatemalan cellist and songwriter, immersed herself deeply in the classical world for a decade, eventually turning her rigorous training on its head by becoming one of the nations most uniquely stylized cellists, coaxing rhythm and other improvised sounds rarely seen on her instrument. 

“Even within the world of folk, their music can’t be defined within a single culture or concept. What is undeniable, however, is the soul-stirring power in their union”. 

• Andria Brown, Folk All Y’all 

Identifying as queer also plays an important role in how Tina and Quetzal approach their unique blend of old time folk, newgrass, americana, and the essential musical and personal alchemy they only have together.  Quetzal describes her cello playing as the oceanic counterpoint to Tina’s earthy, time-honored musical approach. It’s an apt metaphor for the couple, who married in 2016, after playing music together since 2010. Tina counts through-hiking the Appalachian Trail as a formative musical and human experience, deepening her connection to that place and its musical traditions while Quetzal relishes places of fluidity in both art and expression and constantly inverts expectations.