By Jesse Bertel

Tina Collins is the heart and soul of the Asheville, North Carolina-based music project, Tina & Her Pony. Her “Marigolds Album Release Tour” runs from February through October with shows ranging from New York City to San Francisco and all points in between — including Prescott.

Collins will play a solo concert at 9 p.m. Thursday, June 15, at Founding Fathers, 218 N. Granite St., to celebrate the release of her new album, Marigolds. She spoke with Across the Street ahead of the upcoming performance.

The following interview was edited for length and clarity.

What can you tell me about your new album?

It’s an album that I have been working on for the last couple of years through the pandemic, with themes of death and rebirth. It’s a little bit of a departure from my last album.

The band has been going for like 13 years, and when it started, it was more of a bluegrass sound, like more Americana. Over time, that led into more of like a smooth indie folk sound. The Marigolds album is a little bit more experimental with sound, so it like leans into a little bit of pop and soul and country, and the bluegrass is really not quite there anymore.

How did you come up with the band name,

Tina & Her Pony?

Tina & Her Pony is a name that came about because I wanted a name that I could use, you know, with the band, but also that I felt just encapsulated what I do solo, too.

I like ponies because, you know, it makes you think, “This is like nature-oriented or country,” or kind of bringing some of that imagery to mind. There’s like the trope of every little girl wanting a pony when they grow up. I never wanted a pony. All I wanted was to sing and play music and perform and travel.

Tina & Her Pony is like my dream coming true of getting to do all that.

What do audiences respond to the most when they see one

of your shows?

People seem to be usually taken aback by my voice. I get a lot of compliments, like “Wow, you have such an amazing voice.” I would say that’s the main thing people say to me after I perform.

Other than that, I would say the common thread is that somebody usually cries or is, you know, moved to really deep emotion. That’s not uncommon at a Tina & Her Pony show. That’s actually my aim is to move people to authenticity, to authentic emotion. It doesn’t have to be necessarily a sad song.

I play a lot of kind of upbeat, happy stuff, too but there’s definitely a lot of reflective, sad stuff in there too. So just I just want people to feel something real, whatever that is.

For more information about Tina & Her Pony, visit www.tinaandherpony.com.

Jesse Bertel is a reporter/videographer for the Prescott News Network. Follow him on Twitter @ JesseBertel, email him at jbertel@prescottaz.com, or call 928-445-3333, ext. 2043.