ABOUT
Sophie
“Sophie West is classically trained with a sophisticated power vocal that leaves you floored every time she opens her mouth. Her whimsical perception in life completely contradicts her old soul and makes interactions with her fun and unexpected. Her original music carries the pain of Etta James, and the pureness of Paul Simon.” - Jesthenia L. Fritzke, Dragon Monkey Management
"I've known Sophie since she was 8 years old, and she has always had one of the richest, most stunning voices of any student we've ever had. She has dedicated her life to her craft and the payoff is huge. With a heart filled with music -- and the love and wonder it brings to the soul -- Sophie enchants and astounds her audiences. Don't miss!" - Leela Pratt, Executive Director, Young Performers International
Sophie West is a Denver-based singer/songwriter. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Sophie discovered her love of music at a very young age, guided by her mother’s record collection. She quickly started singing anywhere and everywhere she could. Sophie studied music as a child and went on to teach for Young Performers International, which gave her the opportunity to study and sing with talented musicians such as Miles Schon, Jeremy Lyon (King Dream Music, Rainbow Girls), Sunshine Becker (Further, Melvin Seals & JGB, SoVoSo) and Joey Blake (Bobby McFerrin’s Voicestra, Berklee College of Music professor of voice). Before graduating from high school, Sophie had been hired as a session singer for multiple recording artists, and performed at well-known Bay Area venues such as Yoshi’s, Slim’s, Café Du Nord, Justin Hermann Plaza, and San Francisco City Hall.
Sophie left California to study Vocal Performance at the University of Colorado in Boulder where she earned her Bachelor of Music. During her early years in Colorado, she fell in love with funk and jam music and sang with numerous local funk bands including Groovealicious and the Pamlico Sound. She also formed the folk/psychedelic rock group Far Side of the Mountain. During this time, Sophie performed at venues such as the Dickens Opera House, Boulder Theater and Fox Theater and opened for artists such as Orgone and The Samples.
After a 4-month road trip where she lived in her camper van and traveled the country, Sophie moved to Memphis where she would live from 2020-2023. While in Memphis, she waited out the pandemic and continued writing and recording music. There, she connected with Keith Douglas of Tora Tora and the two co-wrote and released two singles together. In 2024, Keith Douglas re-released their song Coming My Way as the bonus track on his solo album.
But the mountains called her back and she made her way back to Denver in 2023. Since her return to Colorado, Sophie has been busy. She co-founded West of Fennario, which started as a Grateful Dead tribute band but has branched out into original music and is quickly gaining traction as one of Denver’s newest jam bands. And finally, she has begun work on her long-delayed debut solo EP (coming soon!)