The woman behind Spotify’s most-streamed single by a female artist will headline Cheyenne’s popular summer festival Edge Fest in August, the event’s organizer told Cowboy State Daily on Friday.
Tones and I, whose hit “Dance Monkey” is also the most Shazamed song ever, will headline Edge Fest in Cheyenne on Aug. 27. The event is free and open to the public.
Marketing company Warehouse 21 organizes the event and CEO Dave Teubner regularly scouts up-and-coming artists who would be a good fit for the Cheyenne crowd. He told Cowboy State Daily that Tones and I, real name Toni Watson, has been on his radar for a couple of years.
“She’s really our biggest name so far and we were able to do that because of our sponsors,” Teubner said. “We’ve talked about turning Edge Fest into a multi-day event, but right now, we’ve focused on raising more money to put into the artists, quality over quantity.”
“Dance Monkey” was released in 2019, but still regularly receives airplay. In 2020, it was declared the most Shazamed song ever, with nearly 37 million searches for the Australian singer’s big hit.
Tones and I released her debut album in July 2021, but she has reportedly been working on a new record expected to be released in August.
“She’s going on a world tour, which is huge and she’s playing a lot of bigger venues than (Edge Fest) all across the U.S.,” Teubner said. “We’re pretty lucky to have snagged her while she’s going to be in the states.”
Edge Fest has been a Cheyenne summer staple for nearly a decade and has grown exponentially over the last five years.
Teubner has put a focus in bringing higher-tier independent artists to the festival and some of the recent headliners at Edge Fest include Bishop Briggs, K.Flay and LP, all women.
“The fact that we continue having women headliners is semi-intentional,” Teubner said. “We’re not exclusive to having women. We just really admire these artists’ live performances and their ability in which to electrify a crowd.”
In addition to the performance by Tones and I, artists to appear at Edge Fest will include Claire Rosinkranz and Joe P. The event will also feature around a dozen of the region’s “finest” food trucks, beer sales and vendors.
“It just continues to grow in size and numbers,” Teubner said.
Management for Tones and I did not immediately respond to Cowboy State Daily’s request for comment on Friday.