By Kate Bartlett
This week we’re taking a look at the man behind the popular island tunes heard around his hometown of Ellicottville, Tui Osborne. Currently, Tui can be heard at Villaggio on Sunday evenings, EBC Tap + Bottle Taqueria on Fridays and at the Holiday Valley Lounge on Saturdays. Tui plays acoustic guitar and sings top 40 and classic hits with an island twist. He loves performing and making the song his own.
Tui was born and raised in Fiji in the South Pacific where he gained a love for music while growing up in the church. “My dad was a Pastor and my parents were very musical in church. I learned from my dad singing in the choir, and starting playing guitar at 10 years old.” He dabbled with bass guitar and ukelele, but singing and acoustic were more his style. As Tui grew older, he took on more responsibility within the church as music coordinator as well as singing in the church choir until he moved to the United States at age 19.
When he first moved to the US, Tui was a rugby player residing in Los Angeles but traveled the country with the sport. During college, Tui started a Reggae band called “Liquid Rootz”. He was inspired by his cousin, “Wais”, who is also in the music industry. “My cousin played full time and really gave me the push I needed to get started. He gave me a start-up kit and said ‘you can do this.’ That meant a lot coming from him.” Wais is well known in Hermosa Beach in his niche of one-man music.
Tui graduated from the Life University in Atlanta with a Bachelors Science degree in Exercise Science in 2010 and is now the director of rugby at St Bonaventure University for boys division I and girls division II teams. He resides in Ellicottville with his wife, Jessie, and their 9-year-old daughter Emma. He is active in the community and frequently helps out friends with charity events.
Tui loves the Ellicottville community and enjoys performing here. “The vibe in Ellicottville is like no other. People here are so welcoming and I just love being able to play for them.” Performing for Tui is the perfect artistic outlet. “I really just enjoy performing in front of a crowd. I love making people smile with my music. It’s great to be able to look out into the crowd and see their reaction, watch them smiling and enjoying themselves. It’s a gift to be able to make people happy.”
While he is most often playing in the village of Ellicottville, Tui has traveled around the area playing weddings, cocktail hours, and events at Peek‘n Peak, Chautauqua, and Buffalo Breweries. He enjoys performing, but is looking forward to getting back into the studio and recording some original songs.
Tui advises aspiring artists to stay determined and find their niche. “It can be a tough industry, but keep at it, keep pushing and with enough persistence, you’ll get there.”