Donna Grantis is an artist and musician from Tkaronto (Toronto, Canada). Her newest creative project, Culture vs Policy, fuses the emotive power of music with thought-provoking dialogue about the climate and ecological crises. A live performance of the first song from her Culture vs Policy project, titled “A Drop In The Bucket,” was filmed at the inaugural Canadian Music Climate Summit, presented by Music Declares Emergency. In the powerful video, Grantis’ inspired and incendiary guitar playing is featured alongside the voice of Tzeporah Berman, Chair of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. Throughout the performance, Grantis improvises a visceral soundscape in support of Tzeporah’s words which highlight the urgency to stop the expansion of fossil fuels and manage a global, just transition away from oil, gas, and coal.

“As a supporter of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, I was moved by Tzeporah’s words from a recent podcast interview. She spoke about the continued extraction of fossil fuels; the resulting impacts on people and the planet; and ultimately, how change happens. I was inspired to compose ‘A Drop In the Bucket’ and highlight her message in hopes that it may evoke a feeling or spark an idea in someone, as it did with me.”

– DG

From 2012 to 2016 Grantis performed with Prince as a member and co-lead guitarist of his funk-rock trio 3RDEYEGIRL and supergroup New Power Generation. During that time, she was immersed in a wondrously creative musical experience – rehearsing, recording, and performing extensively at Paisley Park, Prince’s legendary production studio in Chanhassen, MN. Notable performances include: the Live Out Loud and Hit and Run tours; The White House for President Barack Obama and family; three nights at The Montreux Jazz Festival; headlining Essence Festival at the Superdome; and a history-making 8-minute set on Saturday Night Live. Grantis composed the title track to Prince & 3RDEYEGIRL’s album PLECTRUMELECTRUM, which reached #1 on the Billboard Rock Chart. 

Following her collaboration with Prince, Grantis fronted a 5-piece electric jazz quintet and released the critically acclaimed debut album, DIAMONDS & DYNAMITE, described by the Star Tribune as “New millennium jazz-rock fusion, sorta like Jeff Beck meets a post-modern Mahavishnu Orchestra.” On two of the album’s tracks, Grantis collaborated with Hall of Fame Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready – and released “TRASHFORMER” a limited edition 7” single through his boutique vinyl-only record label HockeyTalkter Records. Recently, Grantis recorded an anthemic solo guitar piece produced by Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, which became the soundtrack to a Super Bowl LVII campaign.

Grantis is passionate about music as a force for social change. She is an EarthPercent artist, an endorser of the Music Declares Emergency declaration, an advisor to The Jellyfish Project, and a roundtable member of SCALE/LeSAUT. As a panelist, she has spoken about arts’ role in the climate crisis at conferences including the Canadian Music Climate Summit, The Great Northern Festival and Canadian Music Week, among others. She is an alumna of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps Virtual Global Training led by former Vice President Al Gore; the Creative Climate Leadership program hosted by Julie’s Bicycle; and the Wolf Willow Institute for Systems Learning Spring Café. In partnership with EarthPercent, an environmental charity co-founded by legendary producer and music pioneer Brian Eno, Grantis gratefully credits ‘The Earth’ as a co-writer of music she creates.