Tracy Bonham

Distinguishing herself during the alternative boom of the mid-'90s by merging her classically trained violin skills into her disgruntled, Billboard-charting post-grunge, Tracy Bonham has gone on to further enrich her sound with ornate pop and jazz. She achieved gold sales and two Grammy nominations with her 1996 debut, the hard-hitting The Burdens of Being Upright, featuring the alternative rock hit "Mother, Mother." Although she has never re-created that album's commercial success, Bonham has continued to win positive reviews while experimenting with her sound on independent releases including 2015's more melodic Blink the Brightest, 2010's jazz-pop-injected Masts of Manhatta, and 2025's Sky Too Wide, which featured a cabaret-style piano combo. Throughout it all, her music has maintained a dissatisfied edge in tune with her origins.