Tonic Sol-fa has established itself not only as the most in-demand vocal group in the Midwest but also as one of the most successful independent acts in America. In addition to substantial album sales of its own independent releases (2,000,000 copies sold), the group has toured extensively throughout the US and abroad, notching a win Emmy along the way. Now, they’re returning to the Washington Pavilion for an epic musical performance this April 2025 — don’t miss it!
Tonic Sol-fa began at St. John’s University in Central Minnesota and includes lead vocalist Shaun Johnson, tenor and vocal percussionist, Greg Bannwarth, baritone and percussionist/vocal percussionist, Theo Brown and bass vocalist, Jared Dove. Together the group reached national prominence with appearances on NBC’s Today Show as well as 3 PBS specials. They were the first a cappella group to be signed to a national record label and were inducted into the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame, alongside Prince.
From the group’s onset, the members overcame a number of obstacles, including an unspoken apprehension to acappella acts by individuals in the music industry and having a name that was anything but catchy (a system of naming the notes of the scale, usually do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, developed to teach singing). Still, the group persevered, recording and manufacturing its own records and selling them to a growing legion of fans via the Internet and social networking sites, in the lobby of the theaters where they performed, and amassing fans one at a time through nearly 4 thousand performances to date. One could say they gained their current consumer popularity the old-fashioned way; they earned it.
