Raphael Saadiq has made the dreams of ’90s R&B fans come true, officially announcing that Tony! Toni! Toné! are back and heading out on tour together.
On Tuesday (June 20), Saadiq, who teased the reunion back in March, took to Instagram to announce the group’s forthcoming Just Me & You Tour, which will serve as the trio’s first tour in over 25 years.
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The California R&B group will kick things off on September 21 in Birmingham, Alabama, and will head through New York City, Chicago, Nashville, and Los Angeles before wrapping up at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, California on November 14 and The Masonic in San Francisco on November 17.
“I’ve always wanted to put my family back together,” Saadiq said in a statement. “Playing with the Tonys again is a thank you to the fans, the Super Tonians, for supporting all my musical efforts. Without those who were with us from Day One, where would I be? But the main reason is that my father, Charlie Wiggins, would’ve wanted it this way – to see me, D’Wayne and Tim playing together again.”
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Formed by Raphael Saadiq, his brother D’Wayne Wiggins and Timothy Christian Riley in the late 1980s, the trio released their debut album Who? in 1988, followed by The Revival in 1990.
Tony! Toni! Toné! then achieved stardom with their third effort Sons Of Soul in 1993, which was certified double platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America). The group then disbanded after their fourth effort House Of Music, which critics called their best project.
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In a 2019 interview with Sway’s Universe, Saadiq revealed the group would be getting back together, despite D’wayne previously saying it would never happen. The Grammy Award-winning singer elaborated on what motivated the change of heart in an interview with NME later that year.
“I’ve been working on new Tonys music for about 15 years. I just felt like we should do something, a few songs, maybe seven or eight of them and then do a few shows,” he said. “So I’m not gonna be back-back because I have way too many things going on, but as far as doing a tour and an EP or something, I’m down for that.”
He continued: “I’d actually like to perform the very last record we did together, ‘House of Music’. We never toured that record so if everyone is up for it I’d like to do that and put out three new records.”
He also spoke on Tony! Toni! Toné!’s breakup and the rumors that it was because his brother D’wayne stole money from the group.
“It was more an appropriation of funds, if you know what I mean?” Raphael Saadiq clarified. “Things just weren’t operating right. We were young, we all really didn’t understand everything and he was sort of the leader of the group. We all had the same bank account at one time.”
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Tickets for the Just Me & You Tour go on sale to the general public on Friday (June 23) at 10 AM local time, with a special presale starting Wednesday (June 21) at 10 AM local time.
Check out the full list of dates below:
SEPTEMBER 2023
21 – Birmingham, AL – BJCC Concert Hall
22 – Charlotte, NC – Ovens Auditorium
24 – Washington, DC – The Theater at MGM National Harbor
26 – Baltimore, MD – Lyric Opera House
28 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met
30 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall
OCTOBER 2023
1 – Durham, NC – Durham Performing Arts Center
5 – Boston, MA – Orpheum TheatreSun October
8 – Cleveland, OH – State Theatre
10 – Louisville, KY – Louisville Palace
11 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
12 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre
13 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre
19 – Greensboro, NC – Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts
20 – Columbia, SC – The Township Auditorium
21 – Jacksonville, FL – Moran Theater
22 – Atlanta, GA – Fox Theatre
26 – Memphis, TN – Orpheum Theatre
27 – New Orleans, LA – Orpheum Theatre
28 – Dallas, TX – Music Hall at Fair Park
29 – Sugar Land, TX – Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land
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NOVEMBER 2023
10 – Las Vegas, NV – Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort
11 – Los Angeles, CA – YouTube Theater
14 – Oakland, CA – Paramount Theatre
17 – San Francisco, CA – The Masonic
