BIO
Tin Finley has the Tin Angel restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee to thank. Not only for its name, but for being the center of the tie that would bind in years to come. Annette Strean, born and raised in Montana, moved to Nashville in 1997. Like many, she worked at the restaurant while pursuing her music career. Kirk Cornelius, originally from Minnesota, had moved to Nashville to pursue the same dream and was meeting up with an old friend at a local haunt-the Tin Angel. Kati O’Toole, also born and raised in Montana, spent some time in Nashville years later and found community by working in a restaurant loved by the music industry, once again, the Tin Angel.
Annette and Kirk played music together and eventually got married. (They had no idea how Nashville that was.) Kirk was a musician, singer/songwriter/guitar player, and tour manager for years, and eventually would work in the world of strategy and design. Annette was a signed musical artist and travelled all over the United States and the world with her band, Venus Hum that also opened for, and performed in, the touring show for Blue Man Group. She would remain a recording artist, singer, songwriter and writer. Kati earned a degree in Music Production and Engineering at Berklee College of Music in Boston and then headed to Los Angeles where she worked in a world renowned studio The Village Recorder and later cut her teeth as a touring musician. She started working as the Head of Production at StudioPros, an online full recording studio. All, in their own right, found success and fulfillment in making music, recording, writing, and touring. Eventually that long winding road led them all back to Montana.
One day, a dear mutual friend, visual artist Emily Francis Harper Beard (whom both Kati and Annette met at the Tin Angel at different times), came to visit Kirk and Annette in Kalispell, to where they had made the long trek west after 20 years. She led them by the hand to Kati’s house (which happened to be less than a mile from where Annette grew up) saying that they needed to be friends. By the end of that fated visit, Kati offered Annette a job singing and writing at an online studio. In the years prior, Annette, like many singers, developed nodes on her vocal cords that would require surgery and subsequent vocal rehab. Overuse and mental health issues led to an unexpected hiatus in her career, with a couple of record releases being the exception. She was focusing on being a mother and returning to health. Working with Kati, helped stoke the fire within that had been so close to going out. Kati, after 14 years at StudioPros, was building the Montana Treehouse Retreat from the ground up with her husband Darin, while also raising a family. They both missed playing shows and making music. They needed it. After working together for a while they decided to learn each other’s songs and play a couple of gigs. Their harmonies fit like family. Something was unlocked. Kirk, also missing music in his life, joined in to play the inaugural Living Room show for Kalico Art Center of which he was a founding board member. They played a set of each of their own originals to a full house of listening ears and rave reviews. There was momentum and excitement and a busy schedule of shows planned. However, due to circumstances beyond their control, their path was altered, and as a trio they took that opportunity to dig deeper. They decided to use their individual skills and passions to write new material together. The songs were cathartic and life affirming, and they were good. They continued to hone their unique and beautiful sound and shared it both live and from the studio. From their home studios they wrote, produced and recorded their first two singles, Crack In The Window and Start A Fire featuring the talented multidisciplinary artist and musician Tony Miracle of critically acclaimed Venus Hum as special guest. They started playing in mindfully picked, and not always traditional, listening venues that suited their shows perfectly-ranging from the historic Hockaday Art Museum to the inspiring Max’s of Bigfork.
Today, their audience is growing rapidly due to their fully captivating live performances and the anticipation of more recordings, which are currently in the works.
The Tin Angel, so many miles away in Nashville, Tennessee was the seed and Montana has been the soil. Welcome home Tin Finley.
Come check out their lush harmonies, storied lyricism, beautifully crafted musicianship and the transcendent yet approachable atmosphere they create.
Check out their previous releases:
VenusHum: venushum.com
Kati’s original music: katiotoole.com