You never know what 12 months can do for a musician’s visibility. As we gear up for another year of amplifying local talent, here are five Sofar artists we’ve got our eye on.
1. BOYISH
Boyish is primed to make 2024 their greatest year yet. In 2023, they traversed the US and Europe multiple times — both on their first headline tour (with support from fellow Sofar artist BEL) and while supporting King Princess and Claud.
2023 highlights include their first-ever TV performance from the TRNSMT festival in Scotland and the release of singles Legs and Kill Your Pain (with King Princess). Boyish has consistently pulled big crowds of fans who somehow know the words to their songs (even though they haven’t even been fully released yet). To us, that’s a tell-tale sign that something big is building ahead.
2. DENDE
Houston’s smoothest son might just be the next biggest thing in R&B. Written as he navigated the aftermath of a complicated break up, Dende’s 2023 album ‘95 Civic navigates all the stages of grief. In May, Sofar invited Dende to London as part of our Artist-in-Residence project, where he spent every moment creating new music, making connections, and giving exclusive live performances—streamed live to his large social media following.
3. SNEAKY MILES
Sneaky Miles found each other through open mic nights at the University of New Hampshire. The band quickly established themselves on the Seacoast music scene with their debut album, Rivers Run Gold, following soon after.
Naturally, Sofar asked them to drive across the Massachusetts border to play some intimate shows in Boston. Enjoy this recent performance of Suzie. If you like what you see, catch them this month at Sofar shows in Boston’s South End and Downtown, or in their debut at Brighton Music Hall with fellow Sofar performers Steve Rondo and Samantha McKaige.
4. MEDIUM BUILD
Regular readers may know that throughout 2023 Sofar worked closely with Nick Carpenter — an artist known for his brilliant storytelling and wisecracking personality. Building on a stellar 2023, during which he toured with Lewis Capaldi, signed a major label deal, and took part in our Artist-in-Residence program in London, expect to see Medium Build coming at you from all corners this year.
Carpenter is a testament to growing audiences from the local community first. In many ways, he has become the pride of Alaska, which he holds in equal reverence. Check out Dirt In Your Lungs, a wonderful showcase of his love for Anchorage.
5. DAFNA
The Boulder, CO native recently moved to LA to transform her work by combining her classical piano training with alternative and pop elements. Writing and producing everything in her bedroom, Dafna creates new music at a feverish pace, independently releasing eight (count ‘em, EIGHT) singles in 2023 alone. And that was following the release of three different albums over the previous two years.
While Los Angeles might be chock full of people competing for the same dreams, Dafna is making the most of her new home. Her singles Sour and Bitter, as well as the brilliantly hectic recent release of I Wanna Feel, showcase a new tenor of talent. The competition of LA may be fierce, but Dafna has the ferocity to transcend it.
Catch Dafna at her next Sofar show on January 20th in Venice, CA.
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