A diagnosis of multiple sclerosis and a car accident causing serious injuries might have been enough to stop a career in music.
Not for Tonye Aganaba.
Aganaba is onstage at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts on Thursday, Nov. 28.
“Tonye’s style, like her gender, is fluid (or at the very least non-binary) – but can be described as soul/neo-folk/R&B,” says an artist bio. Aganaba has been likened to such artists as Lauryn Hill, Ani DiFranco and Chaka Khan.
Aganaba, born in London, England to parents of Nigerian and Zimbabwean descent, moved to Canada at age 13. Their career trajectory was interrupted by a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in 2015, then by a serious car accident on an icy back road two years later – leaving their spine fractured in six places and Aganaba bedridden and isolated for months.
“In many ways, Tonye has had to start over, and they bear the scars to show it. They now refer to MS as the best thing that ever happened to them. A wake-up call offering a new lease and, more importantly, a shift in perspective,” says the bio. “Their purpose and vision are crystalline: to connect with audiences on a deeper level through intentional work and to use their presence to foster meaningful dialogue within communities.”
Aganaba will bring that mission to the Shadbolt Centre’s Studio Theatre, 6450 Deer Lake Ave., at 8 p.m. Tickets are $36 and can be purchased at tickets.shadboltcentre.com or 604-205-3000.
