SOPHIE B. HAWKINS:
Legendary songstress Sophie B. Hawkins has been defying categorization ever since breaking out in the early '90s with her edgy debut single "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover," and she continues to carry the torch for nonconformists everywhere. An outspoken vegan, feminist, and omnisexual with serious pop songwriting chops, Hakwins has remained fiercely idiosyncratic despite her mainstream success, and her loyal fans love her for breaking the mold. Today she's as iconoclastic as ever, taking on romance in 2016 with a new batch of wonderfully frank first-date and breakup tunes. In concert she speaks her mind freely, waxing philosophical between confident renditions of favorites like "As I Lay Me Down" and "Right Beside You." Whether she's rocking out with new material or performing her '90s hits, Hawkins is a one-of-a-kind performer who marches to the beat of her own drumóand fans wouldn't have it any other way.
BACKGROUND SNAPSHOT:
Sophie Ballantine Hawkins was born and raised in New York City and attended Manhattan School of Music as a percussionist. After a brief stint playing percussion for legendary Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry, Hawkins released her critically acclaimed 1992 debut album Tongues and Tails. The record's lead single "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" was a runaway hit, cracking the Top 10 in the US, UK, and Australia and earning her a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. Her rise continued with 1994 sophomore album Whaler, which featured the chart-topping hit "As I Lay Me Down". Following 1999's Timbre and 2004's Wilderness, Hawkins took an eight-year hiatus and returned in 2012 with The Crossing, a collection of finely crafted tunes that proved her point of view was as incisive as ever. With an album of new material ready to share in 2016, Hawkins has fans eagerly awaiting the rare opportunity to see her in concert.