On February 9th, a group of Shorecrest students, faculty, and family took their seats in the Janet Root Theatre to support Shorecrest junior Sofi Rosales. This concert grew from a string of student-run recitals that began with guitarist Wade LeCain ‘22 and his independent capstone project. It was followed shortly by junior Lauren Brumbelow and now Rosales. 

     When asked why she was driven to share her music with a larger audience, Rosales said, “I guess it was a way for me to share this music that I had polished and built up in an alternative way with people.” This motivation led to a lengthy rehearsal process, which was aided by efforts from Brumbelow, junior Ava Harris, and sophomore Sarah Kingsford. The group would gather to run number after number, including an intermittent script written and presented by Rosales.

  While these three offered backup vocals on a few of the numbers, the lyrics and music of every piece were written by Rosales herself. Additionally, Rosales played all of the music on a combination of her ukulele and guitar.     

     “The live music experience is something I have always enjoyed,” Rosales said. She has one song released: her single “Green Eyed Monster.” But according to Rosales, the recording process is “long, expensive, and kind of tedious.” On top of that, Rosales said, “The live music experience is something I have always enjoyed.” This set of circumstances paved the way to her February concert.

      This aforementioned single, alongside the rest of the performance’s set, is part of an album entitled “Phobia.” The album is largely inspired by human nature and its various fears. Songs such as “Dystopia” and “Back of Their Minds” hold darker tones while songs such as “Color Blind” hold —possibly unintentional—lighter tones. While the somberness of human fear may not be entertaining to some, many who attended the show left smiling.

     “I think everything shone the way it was supposed to,” Rosales said, speaking on the subject of her vocal setup and the concert’s sound. When asked about attendances, she said, “It was a pretty decent turnout, audience-wise.”      

     Rosales’s successful performance was not only an example of student enterprise and hard work, but it also set the stage for many performances to come. “I learned that putting myself out there can have a big pay off,” Rosales said. “The feeling of accomplishment I felt afterwards was worth all the nerves beforehand.”