The Story Behind the Song

 

Sophia Meadows is a singer-songwriter and multi- instrumentalist from the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Born and raised in the quaint coastal town of Ocean Springs, her passion for music began at an early age. Sophia would often write out songs and sing them throughout her childhood, which ensued her parents to enroll her in piano and guitar lessons at 11 years old at Rock U 2 Academy of Popular Music. From there, she was able to hone her writing skills and create the songs she sings today. Also during this time, Sophia joined her school choir, which she continued through graduation. Choir allowed her to strengthen her voice while singing with peers who had a shared love of music. As time went on, Sophia eventually began to take voice lessons, as she started to learn her solo voice, and mandolin lessons to add a bluegrass flare to her writing, from Rock U 2 during her first year of high school. Sophia's early life consisted of growing up with a music-loving family, with their devoted support inspiring her to go all in and pursue songwriting. Both of her parent's taste in music helped her gain her sound, with her mom's love of artists such as Alison Krauss, Nickel Creek, and the Beach Boys, and her dad's love of old country including Merle Haggard, Ronnie Milsap, and Travis Tritt. Sophia credits her Mississippi roots for her adoration of all things vintage.​

 

Experience

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Sophia made her debut performance on the stage of Ocean Springs music venue and restaurant Murky Waters, where she sang and played guitar as a duo with a friend at 12 years old. Although she was a shy child, gaining the nickname "Ariel" in reference to The Little Mermaid by her peers, Sophia quickly realized that the stage was where she felt most comfortable, and performing in front of an audience was far from intimidating. Since then, Sophia has played at multiple venues that include multiple shows at the Hard Rock Cafe of Biloxi, MS, the Songs and Stories Christmas Showcase in Ocean Springs, and Rock the Block Gala at the IP Resort of Biloxi, MS featuring Trace Adkins. In 2018, she took the stage at the annual Mississippi Songwriters Festival in her hometown of Ocean Springs, and continued the tradition for years to come by joining the Mississippi Songwriters Alliance as an active member. A performance that Sophia takes a lot of pride in is singing with her school choir at the renowned Carnegie Hall in New York City under the direction of composer Cristian Grases. In preparation for this show, she and her fellow choir members learned and performed six songs in Spanish at just 13 years old. Recently, Sophia performed her newest original single, "Song of a Sailor" in a songwriting round at coveted venue The Commodore in Nashville, TN, followed by songwriting legend Jerry Foster.

Mississippi Made, Tennessee Trained

 

After graduating from Ocean Springs High School in 2021, Sophia made the ambitious move to Murfreesboro, TN, just outside of Nashville, to further her music studies at Middle Tennessee State University, home of an award-winning Recording Industry Program and containing the only Media and Entertainment College in the U.S. She is currently in the her final year, and majors in Recording Industry Studies with an emphasis in Commercial Songwriting, and minors in Mass Communications with a concentration in Video/Film.​

 

The Dream

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While Sophia's songwriting abilities provide a soft and serene sound with stories that her listeners can relate to, these skills are not limited to her lyrics, as she often spent her school years in front of a piano writing instrumental compositions, using her knowledge of music theory and classical music. She was fortunate enough to have an internship with her producer Mr. Tim Alamsha at Rock U 2 Academy where she worked as a production assistant helping to film and edit recordings as well as the accompanying music videos. Sophia hopes to someday have the chance to compose scores for film.