Tina Benitez-Eves

Senior Writer

Obsessed with The Shirelles when she was a little girl, Tina would sing the legendary group’s hit “Soldier Boy” out the window of her Bronx, New York apartment to unsuspecting passersby, then duck when they looked up to find the source of the out-of-tune vocals. Growing up with parents playing everything from T. Rex to The Temptations on vinyl, throughout her career, and life, it all continued to come back to music for Tina. Moving through later addictions to new wave and pop, punk — even seeing The Ramones before they parted ways — and more post-punk and harder rock/metal, music became an entire soundtrack of Tina’s life — and remains one to this day.

Singing was never in the cards for Tina, but writing was, and she jumped into early record reviews for her high school newspaper before studying journalism at NYU and entering her one of first “real” writing jobs as a reporter for the Village Voice in the late 1990s.

A journalist for more than two decades, Tina has covered hard news, along with entertainment, art, pop culture, food, wine and spirits, health, travel and more. Throughout it all, the stories always returned to music. Her words have appeared in Billboard, Los Angeles Times, Men’s Journal, Wine Spectator, and other local and national newspapers, magazines, and online publications. And she’s still a lifelong fan of The Shirelles.