Tony Wittrock

Tony developed his love for American music at a young age, by listening to the bands that defined the British Invasion. It was the Stones and the Beatles who first brought to his attention the blues greats making music closer to home, introducing Tony to Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Junior Wells and other legends. Today Tony’s love of honky tonk, rock ’n roll, and blues has made him a Chicago-based touring musician much in demand: he has performed at Buddy Guy’s Legends in Chicago, Rockabilly Bombardment in Austria, The Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland, and various other music festivals in the US, and beyond our borders. A master of several instruments, Tony plays mandolin for John Primer, Donna Herula and Friends, a band co-led by Primer, a blues legend, and Herula, a rising traditional blues star who makes music with a decidedly feminist bent.

As the music curator and community liaison for Center for Story & Witness, Tony plays a critical role in our programming and performances. He is a driving forces behind “Hear to Be Heard,” the Center for Story & Witness benefit concert created to spotlight female musicians; and a touring member of the ensemble of actors and musicians at the heart of Lived Through This, the theatrical adaptation of Anne K. Ream’s memoir of a global journey spent listening to survivors of sexual violence. In that capacity Tony and Anne worked together to develop the Lived Through This musical setlist, a collection of  rock, soul, and blues songs Tony directed and co-performed, alongside notable local female artists, at the Chicago and New York City theaters where the play has been performed.

“Protest music has always been a form of social justice storytelling,” says Tony. “It’s the way generations of artists have given voice to their pain. My job at Center for Story & Witness isn’t just to perform music, it’s to bring together other artists looking to change the world thorough the power of song.”