From Boulder, Colorado to Nashville by way of southern California after going to college in San Diego and living in Los Angeles for six years, Sophia Scott finally brought her style of country mixed with pop, southern rock, soul and R&B vibes to Europe’s largest country music festival for this year’s C2C: Country to Country festival in London. Drawing close to a million monthly listeners and career streaming numbers around the one hundred million mark, she really lives up to her social media username of being @sophunky. Last year she released her highly personal twelve track full-length debut “Barstool Confessions” via Empire Nashville and was one of the most anticipated performers at this year’s festival where Sophia sat down with Jamie for a really fun chat.
Thanks for the hang, I think this is going to be fun so let’s go girl! “Sounds good, I’m an open book.”
That’s what we like, that’s always good to hear. “Too right, although careful ha-ha.”
Oh yeah, always be careful ha-ha. Is this your first time over here? “No, when I was in college, I studied abroad in Barcelona for a year so I came over here and also my dad used to own a travel company so, he had us travelling around everywhere but in another life I would literally move here. I love it here so much, I was here last year actually for a wedding.”
What do you love so much about here? “Well, I mean the shopping for a start, the first thing I did yesterday was went shopping. I’m a vintage girl, I got like a cowhide fur coat and new cowboy boots, oh my God my credit card was like no Sophia.”
It’s fine, it’s not money now. You worry about that down the road, credit cards are a tomorrow problem ha-ha. “Totally ha-ha. I love the pace of the lifestyle here, I love how clean it is, how beautiful it is, I love the people and it’s so posh.”
I dig that you get how to use posh in the same way that we would, compared to most Americans. “Well, Posh Spice! C’mon you’re repping VB on your shirt, she’s my icon and I mean she really is my style icon totally.” I could happily talk to you all day about putting things on credit cards and The Spice Girls but as we are at a festival, I guess we should bring that up. You had a little play earlier so, how does C2C live up to what you were expecting? “I mean I did not expect that many people to be there and all these girls were in the front singing my songs. One girl started crying and I started crying, I’m very sleep deprived but also really emotional and would have cried anyway but it was really sweet. I feel like the audience was so engaged and like true-blue fans who were proper die-hard and they really cared.”
People here that are you fans go out of their way to listen to you and really choose to just by the way people discover and have access so, deep cuts become the big smash in people’s eyes and every song has value. “That’s amazing, it’s like unheard of at home although not here. Someone else said that about how people will love the deep cuts but people are like, I don’t really know the right word apart from die-hard I guess.”
It is crazy and especially playing multiple sets here where people will come to all of the one you play and will DM you saying that you didn’t play this song, can you play that tomorrow. “I’ve seriously noticed that already, someone was messaging me before I even got here saying that they hoped I switch up the sets or else how would I play all of the songs where I’m thinking I don’t know, I don’t know if I am going to switch up the sets but I’m going to try.”
My friend Katie is probably one of those people that’s been in your DM’s all excited about you being here and wanting you to play everything, she moved to Australia and came back over for C2C where she kept constantly posting about this @sophunky. When I first saw it, I didn’t see the pun straight away but then I’m like OMG So Phunky, that’s awesome. “Ha-ha yeah, So Phunky. It was my friend Valerie in middle-school who called me that and then it stuck with everyone so I made it mine but I actually didn’t come up with it so I can’t really take the credit.”
Girl, it just works and it’s so you. Coming back to why you are here and all that so, this trip is a pretty fast one with a load of sets here and the show with Restless Road at Lafayette after the festival. FYI it’s a really cool venue, super new and Ben Lovett from Mumford & Sons runs it, so you will love it. With the festival here, it’s almost like a mini CMA Fest but mostly undercover. “Yeah, it feel like that for sure. I had no idea what to expect but it was dark in there and so cool. I think it was the Wayside maybe but it’s so easy to get lost in here so luckily it is a circle and if you keep going you’ll end up back where you were ha-ha.” You’re getting to play songs off your record that came out last year for the first time and that initial full-length project is where you really let people know who you are. “One hundred percent. I was going through a pretty tough breakup and then simultaneously it’s like cool, here you are delivering your first album so go do this. At the time, there was a second where I wanted to run away in my semi-dark moment but I got a grip and was like, this is exactly what I’m doing this for, then it all felt super important and that I was meant to share my vulnerability. I have never been more grateful for songwriting than I had in the past two years going through that turmoil as we will call it but also growth and all of those things. Initially I wanted the album to come across as a female empowerment like let’s get through the breakup album and when I was talking to my friend about it, he said you realise that this is not what it is. I was like what do you mean? It was trying to be empowering but I realised that what was better about it was that yes whilst there are empowering moments but it was more about my unhealthy coping mechanisms.”
“Nobody tells you how to go through a breakup, everybody deals with it differently, has their own path and it’s whatever works for you. Honestly this was what worked for me so I wrote all of these songs, put them together as a collection and I have a lot of singles but it was a good way to introduce myself to people that didn’t know me then hopefully connect with people that were going through the same kind of thing because who hasn’t gone through a breakup?”
It’s like your own self-therapy really where the “Barstool Confessions” are pretty much confessing to yourself. “Oh yeah and as I said to you, I’m an open book, I wear my heart on my sleeve and if I have a few drinks you can just ask me anything.”
You and me both Sophia ha-ha. Hopefully this isn’t going to be the last time that we are going to see you over here though. “Oh no definitely not, I’m coming back. It’s so worth the effort and I saw it straight away, just now this girl ran up to me crying saying every time I get in my car I listen to you and you got me through my breakup, I was like awh oh my God! The reaction so far has been really wonderful, I was in a funk earlier this week and the energy in there got me out of it.”
You were so funk and now your back being so funky. “Ha-ha yes, yes it was a so funk ha-ha.”
But you’re out of it now. “Yep, literally just now, I feel I’ve just got out of it although I am tired from jet-lag and stuff, I only got in yesterday.”
You are so going to enjoy your bed then tonight but thank you so much Sophia, this has been so much fun.
The debut full-length album “Barstool Confessions” from Sophia Scott is out now and is available HERE. You can find details for all of Sophia’s upcoming North American shows by checking out her WBESITE or you can be the first to be in the know about any news of forthcoming new releases and what she is up to by following her on INSTAGRAMTIKTOKTWITTER & FACEBOOK.
C2C: Country to Country will return in 2025 for three days of festivities in Berlin over the weekend of March 7th to 9th which you will be able to find further detail on their WEBSITE and on INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK where you will also be able to relive highlights from this year’s event.
The event will then roll back into London, Glasgow and Belfast the following weekend between March 14th and 16th which you can keep a look out for all forthcoming details at the event WEBSITE or socials (INSTAGRAMTWITTERFACEBOOK) with line-up details expected to be announced later in the year.