Jenison’s Sophia McIntosh puts ‘heart and soul’ into indie-pop
Jenison-based musician Sophia McIntosh is currently working on a new album or EP, debuting the track “Start Again.”
The spellbound and awestruck reaction of those who’ve witnessed Sophia McIntosh performing on stage says a lot about this fiery 20-year-old singer, keyboardist and songwriter who unleashes powerful, dynamic vocals.
“It’s my safe space, so I put my heart and soul into it. It just feels normal and comfortable because it’s what I’m used to doing,” remarked the Jenison musician who began performing professionally at age 14 and has released a myriad of indie-pop singles since.
“Our band shows are really fun and high-energy and loud and could almost be considered rock/pop because we’re so like ‘Woooo.’ … With the band, I just love to see people dance. I love to see people getting into our show.”
The young artist cites Lady Gaga, Adele, Brandi Carlile and Carol King as inspirations, and grew up watching her parents perform in the popular cover band Drop 35. Her father, Michael, now serves as McIntosh’s manager and sometimes performs with the keyboardist.
“I couldn’t do it without them at all,” she said of her mother and father. “I appreciate them 100 percent. I wouldn’t be doing this probably at all without them.”
Indeed, she left Jenison schools to be home-schooled while pursuing music full-time and has maintained a busy performance schedule: In October alone, she’ll play 10 solo shows across the region, along with four full-band concerts.
She’s currently working on a new album or EP, debuting the track “Start Again” for this week’s edition of the Local Spins Michigan Music Showcase, along with a revised version of an older song, “Set Me Free.”
“My writing has definitely changed. I’m 20 now, so things … make a little bit more sense to me just because I’m growing up and words start having more meaning,” she said. “And songs come to me a little bit less frequently, which can sometimes be good because they can be more quality rather than a bunch of quantity. … So that has changed. I write less, but usually they feel better to me.”
Writing and performing will always be part of the equation as McIntosh moves forward, with hopes of possibly touring beyond Michigan in the future.
“No solidified plan as of right now,” she said, “other than to continue doing what I’m doing: keep playing music, keep writing music, keep releasing music, keep pushing.”
— Find more Michigan news and festival/concert listings at LocalSpins.com. Email John Sinkevics at john@localspins.com.
