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Chicago-born, now LA-based singer/songwriter Sophie Cates started her first ever headline tour this month. This tour included a Feb. 22 date at the Moroccan Lounge — a small yet intimate venue in Downtown LA.
Cates has been releasing music since 2019 under the stage name Silver Sphere with a signed deal with RCA Records. In 2021, Cates decided she wanted to be her most authentic self and release under her real name, so she decided to go independent, according to Genius.
Cates has two EPs titled “yikes” and “All My Boyfriends” and is releasing her newest and first full album “Supernova” in the upcoming months, she said.
At her new show, Cates played two unreleased songs, including the 6-minute heartfelt ballad “17 Chains,” which she said she wrote in one sitting when her words and emotions were just pouring out of her.
Cates said her musical style leans toward pop — with unexpected influences every once in a while, including The 1975, Taylor Swift, Lorde and more, demonstrated by her synth-pop piano cover of Swift’s “my tears ricochet” at the show.
Cates’ opening act RYLO brought the crowd and made them dance while she swooshed her purple-glitter cape all around the stage, letting the crowd know they were in the presence of a pop star.
Cates opened the show with an older song called “can’t sleep in” and told the crowd Swift inspired her to play her show in musical “eras.” She got the crowd to sing every word to her upbeat song “ghosts!” and played electric guitar on her song “Nasty,” the first song she released under her own name.
Toward the middle of the show, Cates sang her love ballad “Crowd,” showing the audience a new and vulnerable side to her music: “There were nights in July / Where everything seemed fine / But I still drove home / Trying not to cry / I looked for you in every single crowd.”
Cates twirled all night in her black dress and boots and expressed much gratitude to the crowd for their support. She even stayed at the merchandise table for hours after the show — meeting as many people as she could.
Cates’ show felt very homemade — in the most endearing way possible. She giggled between songs, queued her own tracks on the computer and told some stories behind her songs and lyrics — even telling the crowd that she handmade all her T-shirts at the merchandise table and thanking her roommates for dealing with the fumes.
In the second half of the show, Cates played her newest music, “walking the dogs and “like that.” Even audience members in the back row saw her excitement and glow for her first full project.
Cates ended the show with her number one hit and most streamed song “drinking games” — telling the crowd she wanted to give them what they want to hear. The song has lyrics such as “You don’t care if I get home safe / Cause I’m just another player in your drinking games.”
Cates and her unique synth-pop sound have a special and distinctive place in the music industry, speaking to girls of many different ages and all their different sides — from crying in the car to cursing their ex’s name.
Cates’ LA show was just one example of the bright future she has ahead of her in the music industry. Fans leaned on the stage in bows and skirts singing along, and new fans discovered her music that night.
Cates will continue to be honest, and it’s not her concern if you can’t “handle” her, she said.
In her song “i don’t see you (how i used to),” Cates sings, “Think I’ve finally found the cure for my anger and my stolen youth, stolen pride.”
Cates will not be seeing her musical success how she “used to” because she has sold-out stadiums and chart-topping albums in her future.
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Contact Beth Gonzales via email: beth.gonzales@pepperdine.edu
