If Toni Braxton has a unique skill – aside from her vocal range that is – it is an ability to take a stormy situation and turn it into a songwriter’s Midas touch.
Her adult life has been marred by rocky roads in the ways of relationships, musical production work, health ailments at inopportune times and an ambition that has her varying her time between recording new music and focusing on television development and production work. But the seven-time Grammy Award winner has pushed through it all with several Billboard chart-topping songs, acting roles, and now a new album, “Sex & Cigarettes.”
Probably most well known for her work with producers Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and L.A. Reid, Braxton’s songs unquestionably dominated the airwaves of the late ’90s and early 2000s. Songs such as “Breathe Again,” “He Wasn’t Man Enough,” “Un-Break My Heart” and “You’re Makin’ Me High” each turned thwarted relationships into powerhouse soulful ballads or dance grooves.
While health problems complicated plans for her previously-planned tour, Toni Braxton instead put out new material and will hit the Grand Sierra Resort’s Grand Theater stage Saturday, Feb 23, for a combination of new songs and old on her As Long As I Live Tour.
While uncertainty seems to have been a presence throughout her career, her songwriting and performances have only benefitted, and Saturday’s 8 p.m. show will be Reno’s chance to catch her belting out anthems spanning her 67 million-plus record sales career.
Tickets start at $45 and can be found here.
— Shaun Astor