Claire Tonna ’s Songs of Healing To Take the Stage At Rock For Richmond
Claire Tonna’s Songs of Healing To Take the Stage at Local artist Claire Tonna discusses her upcoming performance at Rock for Richmond, reflecting on a life of creating music for those who need hope and healing.
Twenty-something years into a music career that’s taken her across continents and into the hearts of many, Claire Tonna is preparing to step back onto stage, this time, for a cause deeply close to her heart. This August, she’ll be performing at the sixth edition of Rock for Richmond, a concert raising awareness and support for mental health through the work of Richmond Foundation. For Claire, whose music has always lived at the intersection of vulnerability and strength, the invite was an easy yes.
“My writing and music have always served as both a personal refuge and a communal anthem,” she explains. “My recent EPHeldtouches on loneliness, suicide prevention, mental health, and self-compassion. So being part of Rock for Richmond, where the message is about connection and courage, felt completely natural.”
That message didn’t come from nowhere. A few years ago, after decades of pouring herself into her music and living a nomadic life, Claire hit a wall. The wear and tear of her nomadic life and constantly pouring all her pain and emotions into her music had finally caught up with her. Mentally, emotionally, she was drained. She began to question her purpose, wondering if it was time to walk away not just from music, but from life itself.
But as Claire has always done in her darkest moments, she reached out for her journal. Words tumbled onto the pageand these thoughtsandfeelingsturned intoa raw letter. She suddenly realised these words needed to be turned into lyrics, and it was this song that became a lifeline and the foundation for her latest EP Held.
“I think ever since I was a child, I’ve always written songs that I needed to hear,” Claire reflects, flipping through a journal filled with ink-smudged lyrics and watercolour sketches. “Songs that could comfort me and say, ‘It’s going to be okay.’ That’s how journaling became a constant in my life, a way for me to work through my thoughts and feelings through music.”
This wasn’t the first time Claire had felt lost and adrift in her life, and it certainly wasn’t the first time she had pulled herself out of that darkness. In her twenties, she formedpart of electro-pop duo Particle Blue, a project that channelled the synthy soundsof 80s electronic wave. The duo brought Claire opportunities to play in London alongside pop icons like Boy George of Culture Club and Dave Ball of Soft Cell.
After that musical partnership ended, she acted on an impulse and left the familiarity of Malta and London behind to travel to Kolkata. With nothing but an acoustic guitar in hand, Claire dove headfirst into life in the West Bengalcity, living among the poor, listening to their stories, and turning their messages into songs. This sparked a period of extensive travel across Europe and beyond, where the singer-song writer played anywhere she could: prisons, hospitals, remote towns.
“I performed for a lot of marginalised people during this time, getting my songs to the people who needed to hear them the most,” Claire says. “This was never about fame or fortune for me. The work is very personal, and I needed it to connect with the right audiences on a human level.”
Then in 2020, an injury to her spine abruptly halted Claire’s off-the-grid travels, forcing her to return home to Malta for a lengthy period of rest and recovery. A serious operation left doctors uncertain whether she would ever speak again, let alone sing.“
It was after this period of recovery, where I was feeling low and underrated, that I wrote the letter that eventually became my song Held,” Claire shares. “And with that, I felt this intense urge to create again, to record. But this time, I wanted to approach my music differently.”
She uploaded a few raw demos of her songs to an online platform that connects music professionals across the globe. To her surprise, her inbox soon pinged with a simple message: “Give me your number now!”
This was from Jon-John Robinson, a two-time Grammy Award-winning American music producer whose resume includes work with legends like Diana Ross, TLC, Lady Gaga, and Pink. “I couldn’t believe it,” she says, “but he really understood me and what I wanted my music to be.
”She soon travelled to Dallas, Texas, for a few intense days of recording with Robinson and his team. Out came Held, her neo-soul-infused EP.The release has already gained a lot of positive traction, with Awake set for a music video premiere this July, created in collaboration with students from MCAST College of the Arts.It’s this same spirit that makes Rock for Richmond such a meaningful moment for Claire as she explains that for her, it’s about participating in a cause that mirrors everything her music stands for.“Supporting organisations like the Richmond Foundation goes hand in hand with the intention of the songs I create and deliver,” she says. “This concert is more than a normal gig, it’s a feast of humanity.
”She’s especially excited to share the stage with fellow Maltese artists Beangrowers, Brikkuni, and Sean Borg. “It’s been over 20 years since I last shared a stage with Beangrowers, and this time we’re doing it for something bigger than ourselves. I look forward to the 23rd of August and all we’ll be doing with our music and our very human force, for the benefit of our society, our own hearts, and the world itself.”
Catch Claire Tonna, Sean Borg, Beangrowers, and Brikkuni at this year’s Rock for Richmond concert, taking place on Saturday 23rd August at Ġnien l-Għarusa in Mosta.
Check out inkontru.app for details and to get your ticket: https://web.inkontru.app/events/pin/2184
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