“Her songwriting has a charm about it that impresses every time. It’s personal, intimate, like listening to a diary entry… and it’s a joy.”

- Ear to the Ground Music

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Known for her “bright vocals” and “lyrically complex narratives,” Sophia DeLeo is a New York City based folk-pop singer/songwriter. Her writing focuses on themes of love, loss, and nostalgia, typically drawing from personal experience. 

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Sophia DeLeo got her start performing in theatre at age 7. As a teenager, she taught herself to play guitar, and after her first heartbreak in high school, she began writing songs of her own. “It was the only place I felt I could express myself,” she says. “I wrote about my life, my friendships, relationships, difficult things I’d been through, but I kept it secret. I thought was going to be an actor. The fact that I was making up songs in my bedroom after school didn’t seem so important at the time."

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She went on to earn her BFA in musical theatre from The Hartt School and then moved to New York City. She began playing gigs at iconic New York venues like the Bitter End and Rockwood Music Hall and self-released several singles before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020. When the world shut down, Sophia taught herself to play banjo and wrote a song nearly every day, while also producing her own demos.

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After experimenting with some pop production on her debut EP, The Boys Who Make Me Cry (2021), Sophia announced her sophomore EP Drama Queen with her single "Maggie Rogers" in 2022. Drama Queen tells the story of Sophia's own coming of age, growing up in Falls Church, Virginia. The indie-folk record explores all facets of girlhood: from the sweet simplicity of high school crushes and first love to the more complex issues young people face when struggling with body image and navigating hookup culture. With effortless vocal stylings and production reminiscent of Kacey Musgraves and brutally honest lyrics drawing comparisons to artists like Phoebe Bridgers and Lizzy McAlpine, Drama Queen is ultimately a record about compassion, self-forgiveness, and healing.

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Want to keep up with Sophia's latest? Check out her NEWS page to see what she's up to, or sign up for her email list for monthly updates about what she's working on.