by Molly Davies
With live shows in over 400 cities around the world, Sofar Sounds is a global movement which is bringing the magic back to live music. With a focus on uplifting local artists and spotlighting interesting spaces, you’re guaranteed to have a wonderful evening discovering new music in a unique setting.
We’ve teamed up with Sofar Bristol to bring you this Ones to Watch feature, showcasing some Sofar artists that they believe to be this year’s rising stars.
Angela Grey
Jet-setting jazz singer Angela Grey is a firm Sofar Sounds favourite. Raised from Manhattan to Manila, and now based in Paris, Bristol has fast become Grey’s favourite spot to write songs and showcase new music. Grey’s debut album, Prisoner of Love, features two original songs alongside six jazz classics reimagined. Live, her voice is warm and perfectly controlled, honed from many nights spent performing in jazz clubs in New York and Paris. Grey’s stage presence is unmatched, her wit meeting emotional vulnerability and offering a unique insight into both her creative process and the situations from which her original music is birthed.
Follow Angela Grey at @itsangelagrey
Akané
There has been a wave of live electronic projects emerging in Bristol recently, Akané being a Sofar favourite. Formed in 2022, the four-piece draw inspiration from groups such as Caribou,
Bonobo, and Maribou State to create a sound that is both euphoric and driven, combining memorable riffs with intricate percussion.
Follow Akané at @akanemusicuk
Gully
Gully is a little like if Tom Misch and Justin Timberlake had a baby, but Justin never parented it for long enough for the tunes to stray too far into the realm of commercial pop. Gully exists where showmanship meets talent merging tongue-in-cheek lyrics with groovy music to create a live show that is both amusing and captivating. 2024 saw Gully release two singles – Lemons
and Panacea – to praise from the BBC and beyond.
Follow Gully at @gullytheintrepid
boci
Now is the perfect time to get into alt-folk artist boci. Live-looped violin and guitar create a rich backdrop for their ethereal vocals and otherworldly lyricism. Having released their debut album we are each other this will set us free to critical acclaim in 2022, boci is at the start of releasing their sophomore album. Set in uniXia, a world of expansive landscapes, ethereal creatures and ancient spirits, uniXia exists between colliding atoms at the sun’s core. Their first single, moonbathing, is a track that gives the listener their first insight into this new world and a new, punchier musical direction.
Follow boci at @boci.music
Davies is a freelance event producer, photographer and musician performing sad-gal-campfire songs turned alt-pop bangers under the stage name MLY.
Sofar Sounds also now offer private concerts for events such as corporate parties, social events, and weddings, as well as a range of sponsorship and partnership opportunities. To find out more, please email molly.davies@sofarsounds.com
Sofar Sounds Bristol has shows every week. Find out more and book your space here.
