Although it’s been roughly 25 years since Tony! Toni! Toné (composed of brothers Raphael Saadiq, D’Wayne Wiggins and their cousin Timothy Christian Riley) performed together, they’re hesitant to call their current tour a reunion. Because, to them, they never broke up. They just evolved as musicians while working on other projects.
“We’re family,” Wiggins said. “The stage is our home, and it just feels like a homecoming.”
Raphael Saadiq Revisits Tony! Toni! Toné! Just Me and You Tour comes to Atlanta’s Fox Theatre on Sunday. The tour was announced earlier this summer.
The band formed in Oakland in the late 1980s. Their debut album “Who?” was released in 1988 and introduced the world to the group’s unique blend of gospel, funk, jazz and soul music — making them pioneers of the neo-soul sound. With hits like “Feels Good,” “It Never Rains (In Southern California),” and “Anniversary,” Tony! Toni! Toné later solidified themselves as one of the biggest soul groups of the ‘90s.
However, the group disbanded after the release of their 1996 album “House of Music.” The album went platinum and was praised as the group’s best work.
Saadiq went on to form the group Lucy Pearl, launch a solo career and compose songs for TV shows like “Insecure,” “Lovecraft Country” and more. He’s also produced songs for giants like Beyoncé, Stevie Wonder and Whitney Houston. Wiggins helped developed Destiny’s Child and other artists at the early stages of their careers. Riley has also produced music for singers like Kelly Rowland and Alicia Keys.
“It just happened to be the perfect storm for us,” Saadiq said about the decision to reunite the group. “A good amount of years, a good amount of music was put out, and a lot of people got to soak in music that that they didn’t even know was our music. It just kind of happened at the right time.”
Wiggins said having those respective journeys in the music industry made it easier for them to perform together again. Although Wiggins said the group has been approached about reuniting many times, things didn’t get serious until earlier this year.
“When you separate and you have to go out and do things, you really come back and really appreciate what you have,” said Wiggins, 62. “We’ve worked with all of these different people, which is cool, but when we come together, you don’t have to figure it out. We speak the same language, same flow and everything just comes together.”
Witnessing the crowd’s reception to the tour announcement and their performances onstage reminded the group of how much they were missed.
“We kind of look at it like, ‘Wow y’all really wanna see us’,” said Riley, 58. “It’s like a really big response, and we’re kind of like, ‘Ok we should’ve been done this,’ but right now is the perfect time.”
Outside of the tour, Tony! Toni! Toné also plans to release new music. Saadiq said they’ve been writing songs and developing ideas for an album. Although the tour is the group’s main priority, he said an album can arrive as early as next year.
“This tour is what we needed,” said Saadiq, 57. “It makes economic sense to make a record, go on tour and then sell the record while you’re on tour, but it doesn’t make creative sense because we have so much music to put into one show and to make it a show that felt good to everybody. The energy that we get from the audience now is going to tell us what we should be doing on our record. "
Sunday night’s show will include songs from Saadiq’s personal discography and Tony! Toni! Toné! hits. As the group celebrates 35 years since the release of their debut album, they want people to remember that they remained true to their own sound — one that was rich in soul and gospel but didn’t cater to pop sensibilities at a time when neo-soul was considered a novelty.
“We stood for something that was very hard to do as a musician,” Saadiiq said. “I feel like we stood for our community and we were very real about what we did. Like Frank Sinatra said, we did it our way.”
IF YOU GO
Raphael Saadiq Revisits Tony! Toni! Toné! Just Me and You Tour
8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 22. $59.50-$199.50. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. 855-285-8499, foxtheatre.org.
