# Tanya Donelly
**Tanya Donelly** (born 1966 in [Newport, Rhode Island](https://www.edgepedia.org/newport-rhode-island)) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist who co-founded the alternative rock bands Throwing Muses and Belly, and joined the Breeders, before pursuing a solo career.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141299/biography) She was a founding member of Throwing Muses with her stepsister [Kristin Hersh](https://www.edgepedia.org/kristin-hersh), later joined [Kim Deal](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-deal) in the Breeders, and then led Belly, whose 1993 album *Star* produced the number-one modern-rock hit "Feed the Tree" and earned two Grammy nominations.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141299/biography) • [2](https://www.mmone.org/tanya-donelly/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1966, Newport, Rhode Island[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141299/biography) |
| Bands | Throwing Muses (co-founder), the Breeders (with Kim Deal), Belly (founder and leader)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141299/biography) |
| Signature hit | "Feed the Tree" from *Star* (1993), #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart[2](https://www.mmone.org/tanya-donelly/) |
| Grammy nominations | Best Alternative Music Album and Best New Artist, both for 1994[2](https://www.mmone.org/tanya-donelly/) |
| *Star* sales | Gold in the US, over 500,000 copies, and over two million worldwide[2](https://www.mmone.org/tanya-donelly/) |
| Solo albums | *Lovesongs for Underdogs* (1997), *Beautysleep* (2002), *Whiskey Tango Ghosts* (2004), *This Hungry Life* (2006), *Tanya Donelly and the Parkington Sisters* (2020)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141299/biography) |
| Belly reunion | 2016 US/UK tour; third album *Dove*, released May 2018[3](https://bellyofficial.com/bio) |
## Throwing Muses
Donelly grew up partly in California before her family settled in [Rhode Island](https://www.edgepedia.org/rhode-island) when she was four. A few years later she met Kristin Hersh, who became a close friend and, when Donelly's father married Hersh's mother, her stepsister. The two learned guitar in their early teens, and at 15 they formed Throwing Muses.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141299/biography) In 1985 the band became the first American band signed to the British independent label 4AD.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141299/biography) Hersh has described the band's sound as "arty hardcore," and the group was among the first to cross over from Boston's college-rock circles to a wider audience.[4](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/CMJ/New-Music/CMJ-New-Music-1995-01.pdf) • [5](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/sep/26/throwing-muses-tanya-donelly-review)
Within the band, Donelly's songwriting supplied a sweeter, more traditional counterpoint to Hersh's angular style; she played lead guitar, shared vocals, and appeared on albums including the 1986 self-titled debut, *Hunkpapa* (1989), and *The Real Ramona* (1991).[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141299/biography) • [2](https://www.mmone.org/tanya-donelly/) She appeared on four albums with the Muses before leaving.[2](https://www.mmone.org/tanya-donelly/)
## The Breeders
Donelly met Kim Deal of the Pixies when Throwing Muses toured Europe with that band, and in 1990 she recorded the Breeders' debut album *Pod* with Deal.[2](https://www.mmone.org/tanya-donelly/) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141299/biography) Deal and Donelly also contributed a cover of Chris Bell's "You and Your Sister" to the [This Mortal Coil](https://www.edgepedia.org/this-mortal-coil) album *Blood* in 1991, and Donelly left Throwing Muses around that time while still appearing on *The Real Ramona* and touring with the band.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141299/biography) After the Breeders' 1992 EP *Safari*, she left the group to concentrate on her own band; she was replaced by Deal's twin sister Kelley.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141299/biography) • [6](https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/tanya-donelly-discusses-reunion-belly-work-breeders-throwing/story?id=39213523)
## Belly and mainstream success
In December 1991 Donelly formed Belly as a vehicle for her own songs, recruiting former Throwing Muses bassist Fred Abong, drummer Chris Gorman, and Gorman's guitarist brother Tom.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141299/biography) The band became known for a blend of guitar rock and countrified dream-pop built around Donelly's lyrics and voice.[3](https://bellyofficial.com/bio) Its 1993 debut album *Star*, which followed a pair of well-received EPs, went gold in the United States on the strength of "Feed the Tree," which reached number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart; the album reached number two on the [UK Albums Chart](https://www.edgepedia.org/uk-albums-chart) and sold over two million copies worldwide.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141299/biography) • [2](https://www.mmone.org/tanya-donelly/) The band opened 1994 with Grammy nominations for Best Alternative Music Album and Best New Artist.[3](https://bellyofficial.com/bio)
After *Star*'s release, Gail Greenwood replaced Abong on bass, and the band toured internationally, appearing with [Radiohead](https://www.edgepedia.org/radiohead), the Cranberries, and Pavement, and opening for R.E.M. in Europe.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141299/biography) • [3](https://bellyofficial.com/bio) The second album, *King*, was recorded at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas with [Glyn Johns](https://www.edgepedia.org/glyn-johns) producing and took a harder-edged, more live-sounding direction.[3](https://bellyofficial.com/bio) It earned the band a top 10 album and a top 30 single, "Now They'll Sleep," in the UK, and Belly appeared on the cover of *Rolling Stone* that year.[7](https://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4151876-so-many-female-artists-get-shunted-to-the-side-and-its-tragic---dis-meets-tanya-donelly-of-belly) • [2](https://www.mmone.org/tanya-donelly/) The band played its last gig in November 1995 and dissolved in early 1996, after which Donelly pursued a solo career.[3](https://bellyofficial.com/bio)
## Solo career
Donelly issued the EP *Sliding & Diving* on 4AD in late 1996, then toured with a band that included her husband, the former [Juliana Hatfield](https://www.edgepedia.org/juliana-hatfield) bassist Dean Fisher.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141299/biography) Her solo debut, *Lovesongs for Underdogs* (1997), added folkier touches and included the hit "Pretty Deep."[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141299/biography) • [6](https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/tanya-donelly-discusses-reunion-belly-work-breeders-throwing/story?id=39213523) When her daughter was born, Donelly balanced music with motherhood, performing with Throwing Muses for the first time in nine years at shows in Massachusetts and Rhode Island in 2000.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141299/biography) She then released the *Storm* EP and the album *Beautysleep* in 2002, both marked by a softer, more reflective approach, followed by the largely acoustic *Whiskey Tango Ghosts* (2004), which featured Fisher and Throwing Muses drummer David Narcizo.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141299/biography) Material performed at shows in Bellows Falls, Vermont, backed by musicians including Joan Wasser and Bill Janovitz, became the live album *This Hungry Life* in 2006.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141299/biography)
Alongside music she trained for and worked in a career as a postpartum doula.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141299/biography) From 2013 to 2014 she released five EPs as the Swan Song Series, recorded with collaborators including Bill Janovitz of Buffalo Tom, John Wesley Harding, Rick Moody, Damon & Naomi, and [Robyn Hitchcock](https://www.edgepedia.org/robyn-hitchcock), as well as her husband; the series was gathered onto a 2016 anthology by American Laundromat Records.[2](https://www.mmone.org/tanya-donelly/) • [6](https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/tanya-donelly-discusses-reunion-belly-work-breeders-throwing/story?id=39213523) • [8](https://www.alr-music.com/collections/tanya-donelly) Her collaborative direction continued with *Tanya Donelly and the Parkington Sisters* (2020), an album of orchestral folk-rock, and with the Loyal Seas, a project with Brian Sullivan of Dylan in the Movies whose debut album *Strange Mornings in the Garden* appeared in spring 2022.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141299/biography) • [8](https://www.alr-music.com/collections/tanya-donelly)
## Belly reunion
Talk of a Belly reunion gained traction in 2015, with Donelly saying her increasingly collaborative solo work had made her homesick for the band.[3](https://bellyofficial.com/bio) Belly reunited for a US and UK tour in 2016 and released its third album, *Dove*, in May 2018, supporting it with live dates in both countries.[3](https://bellyofficial.com/bio) As of the band's own biography, Belly had toured again in 2018 and 2023 and was writing and recording a fourth album, with a fall 2025 tour planned to mark the 30th anniversary of *King*.[8](https://www.alr-music.com/collections/tanya-donelly) • [3](https://bellyofficial.com/bio)
## References
1. [Tanya Donelly Biography by Heather Phares, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141299/biography)
2. [Tanya Donelly, The Music Museum of New England (Oedipus, 2018)](https://www.mmone.org/tanya-donelly/)
3. [Belly Official Biography, bellyofficial.com](https://bellyofficial.com/bio)
4. [CMJ New Music Monthly, January 1995 profile of Kristin Hersh and Throwing Muses](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/CMJ/New-Music/CMJ-New-Music-1995-01.pdf)
5. [Throwing Muses/Tanya Donelly review, The Guardian, 26 September 2014](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/sep/26/throwing-muses-tanya-donelly-review)
6. [Tanya Donelly Discusses the Reunion of Belly, ABC News, 2015](https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/tanya-donelly-discusses-reunion-belly-work-breeders-throwing/story?id=39213523)
7. ["So many female artists get shunted to the side and it's tragic": DiS Meets Tanya Donelly of Belly, Drowned in Sound, 3 July 2018](https://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4151876-so-many-female-artists-get-shunted-to-the-side-and-its-tragic---dis-meets-tanya-donelly-of-belly)
8. [New Music by Tanya Donelly, American Laundromat Records](https://www.alr-music.com/collections/tanya-donelly)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Rock, metal, and popular-band musicians › Indie rock and lo-fi*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license