Tõnis Mägi (born 18 November 1948 in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

) is an Estonian singer, guitarist, composer and actor. He is one of the most influential and remarkable names in Estonian rock music of the past 40 years. More recently, he is known for his political activity in support of the

right-wing populist Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right populism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti- elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establishm ...

and

national-conservative National conservatism is a nationalism, nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding National identity, national and cultural identity, communitarianism and the public role of religion. It shares aspects of traditionalist c ...

Conservative People's Party of Estonia The Conservative People's Party of Estonia (, EKRE) is a Estonian nationalism, nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Estonia led by Martin Helme. It was founded in March 2012 with the merger of People's Union of Estonia and Est ...

as well as

vaccine hesitancy Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal of vaccines despite availability and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain about their use, or using ce ...

Early life

He grew up in a musical family and became interested in music during his early childhood. While attending in the Tallinn 22nd High School (now Jakob Westholm Gymnasium) he started performing as the choir's soloist in the early grades. After learning to play guitar, Mägi started his musician career as a guitarist in school bands Juuniorid (1965) and Rütmikud (1966). After serving in the compulsory

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

he became the vocalist of Baltika. Later he sang in the bands Kärjed, Laine, Muusik Seif, 777 and Ultima Thule.

Career

In the 1970s and 1980s, Mägi gained popularity not only in Estonia, but in the whole

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. One of his most popular songs ''Olimpiada-80'' () became a symbol of the

1980 Moscow Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

. In 1987, he gave his last concert in Russia, after which he returned to Estonia and focused on the

Singing Revolution The Singing Revolution was a series of events from 1987 to 1991 that led to the restoration of independence of the three Soviet-occupied Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania at the end of the Cold War. The term was coined by a ...

. Among other patriotic songs of the time, Mägi's song ''

Koit KOIT (96.5 FM) is a commercial adult contemporary radio station licensed to San Francisco, California. The station has studios along Junipero Serra Boulevard in Daly City, and transmits from Sutro Tower in San Francisco, with a power outpu ...

'' (Estonian for ''Dawn'') became a symbol of freedom. Since 1996 he has been working in

Vanemuine Vanemuine () is a theatre in Tartu, Estonia. It is the first Estonian language, Estonian-language theatre. Stemming from the Vanemuine Society (1865), the theatre's first performance was Lydia Koidula's ''Saaremaa Onupoeg'' ("The cousin from S ...

theatre in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

Political activity

In January 2007, Mägi became a member of the political party

Estonian Greens The Estonian Greens (, EER) is a green political party in Estonia. Founded in 2006, the party held six seats in the Riigikogu from 2007 to 2011. Its objective is to ensure that Estonia's development is environmentally friendly, sustainable, po ...

. He stood as a candidate in the Estonian parliamentary election in 2007, receiving 1215 votes. Since then Tõnis Mägi has communicated skeptical sentiments around the European Union and its interpretations of what's allowable. He has also expressed support towards the right-wing populist national-conservative

. He performed at a concert following the Independence Day torch-march, which was organized by the conservative youth formation of the Conservative People's Party of Estonia called Blue Awakening. He also called for electing a member of the

Henn Põlluaas at the presidential elections of 2021. On April 22, 2017 Tõnis Mägi opposed the

Rail Baltic Rail Baltica is an under-construction rail infrastructure project that is intended to integrate the Baltic states in the European rail network. Its purpose is to provide passenger and freight service between participating countries and improve ra ...

rail line connecting the Baltic States to the rest of the European rail transit system. On October 23, 2021 Tõnis Mägi performed on Freedom Square in

during a demonstration against Covid-19 measures. On a video broadcast prior to that, he called for participation on the demonstration, quoting

Leelo Tungal Leelo Tungal (born 22 June 1947 in Tallinn) is an Estonian poet, children's writer, translator, editor and librettist. Life and career Tungal studied Estonian literature at the University of Tartu. After her graduation, she has worked as a tea ...

poetry, which the author disapproved of. He has also received criticism due to his messaging around vaccine-skepticism. Tõnis Mägi was planning to attend the spring demonstration as well, but he was unable to attend.

Decorations

In 1999, the President of Estonia decorated Tõnis Mägi with a IV Class

Order of the White Star The Order of the White Star (; ) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonian citizens and foreigners to give recognition for services rendered to the Estonian state. Design Classes The Order of the White Star ...

and in 2010 with the III Class

Order of the National Coat of Arms The Order of the National Coat of Arms (, ) was instituted by Konstantin Päts on 7 October 1936 to commemorate 24 February 1918, the day on which Estonian independence was declared. The Order of the National Coat of Arms is bestowed only on Est ...

Personal

Tõnis Mägi met his first wife, Virve, while still a student. In 1980, he married actress and dancer Laine Mihelson-Adamson with whom he has a daughter, Liis-Katrin (born 1983). The couple divorced in 1988. In the same year he met his third wife, Piia, with whom he soon emigrated to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. After her death, Mägi had to raise their daughter, Maarja (born 1992), by himself. Currently, Tõnis Mägi is married to singer Kärt Johanson. They have two daughters: Liidia (born 1999) and Mirt (born 2004). Mägi's daughter from his second marriage, Liis-Katrin, is married to actor Märt Avandi.

Discography

* 1980 ''Олимпиада-80'' * ''Детектив'' * ''Я не умею танцевать'' * ''Любимый мой дворик'' * ''Вот возьму и уеду'' * ''Секундомер'' * ''Меняю'' * ''Сердце не спит'' * 1981 ''Tōnis Mägi & «Muusik Seif»'' * 1983 ''Mäe Kaks Nōlva * 1990 ''Tõnis'' LP, ZEN 2019 Rockadillo Records * 1993 ''Hüüdja hääl'' CD, Trio * 1995 ''Liivakell'' CD, SaluMuusik Rec * 1996 ''Las jääda kõik, mis hea 1'' CD, ERC008 Eesti Raadio:

Jaak Joala Jaak Joala (26 June 1950 – 25 September 2014) was an Estonian singer, musician and a member of two bands: Kristallid and Virmalised. He began as a flautist, later adding singing and bass guitar. Biography Early life Jaak Joala was born i ...

Ivo Linna Ivo Linna (born 12 June 1949 in Kuressaare) is an Estonian singer. Eurovision Song Contest and Eesti Laul He represented Estonia alongside Maarja Liis Ilus in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 in Oslo with the song " Kaelakee Hääl" (The Sound ...

* 1996 ''Las jääda kõik, mis hea 2'' CD, ERC009 Eesti Raadio:

* 1998 ''Kaunilt kaua'' CD, Tõnis Mägi * 2000 ''Eesti Kullafond'' 2CD, HFCD024 Hitivabrik * 2002 ''Pühendus'' DVD, Digibox OÜ * 2003 ''Jäljed'' CD, ARM Music * 2003 ''Siirius'' CD, ARM Music * 2005 ''Vestlus Hermanniga'' CD, T. Mägi * 2006 ''2teist'' CD, Sanofi Aventis * 2008 ''KIIK & KIRIK'' CD, T. Mägi ja Politseiorkester * 2011 ''Tarkus'' CD, Elwood Muusik OÜ

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magi, Tonis 1948 births Living people Estonian pop singers Estonian rock singers 20th-century Estonian male singers Estonian rock guitarists 20th-century Estonian composers 21st-century Estonian composers Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 3rd Class Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 4th Class Soviet male singers Male actors from Tallinn Singers from Tallinn Soviet pop singers 20th-century guitarists 21st-century Estonian male singers Political music artists