This article is part of BruinLife’s BottleRock music festival coverage happening from May 24-26. Check back regularly for newly posted content of the festival.
The current Pepperdine University student Sophia Zamani has been performing since she was five years old. Upon catching the attention of Bruce Springsteen’s in-house producer with her musical prowess, she has since gone on to collaborate with other talented artists and producers such as David Baron and Kevin Kadish. Zamani’s captivating voice and thoughtful lyrics surely caught the attention of audiences at BottleRock 2024.
Zamani came onto the quaint JaMPad Stage to a respectably sized audience. Growing up in California, Zamani said she grew up attending BottleRock and was excited to bring her unique brand of California country to the festival. Her first-ever song performed at BottleRock was “Mount Tam,” a song about how people should love the simple beauties of where they are and the lasting impact of those who may no longer be around. The tune read like a love letter to her roots in small-town America despite now living in the city.
While the crowd started off small, as her angelic voice carried through the festival grounds, it tripled in size by the time she finished her first song. The artist said her next song had an “oh oh” section and asked the audience to sing along. Zamani began to strum her acoustic guitar and started to sing “Your Kisses.” Every bit of emotion was felt in her voice as she sang about the nostalgic youth of childhood. When the tune eventually reached the “oh oh” section, the audience gladly followed along.
The crowd continued to grow as she introduced her third song, “El Toro.” Released on Friday, Zamani said the song will be featured on her first EP releasing this summer. The song picked up with a Western flair straight out of “A Fistful of Dollars” and was accompanied by the synthesizer weaves in and out of the build sections. Her voice fell and cried through the bars and she sang, “I am El Toro.”
Following her latest release was one yet to be released, titled “Hey Hey.” A country twang enters the singer’s voice as she sings about not letting go and how lucky she is to be living out her dreams. Up next was yet another new song called “Love Is Fun.” The synthesizer echoed the melodies about the family Zamani wished to have with a dog, kids and a husband to sit on the front porch with. The lyrics “Maybe someday I’ll be paid” packed a special emotional punch, as the performer was achieving her dreams by playing at BottleRock. Her heartfelt set concluded with another passionate love song, this one titled “California Sun,” and was about forgiving someone who she shouldn’t have forgiven and still can’t get out of her head.
With her first of hopefully many BottleRock performances finished, Zamani gave a huge thanks to JaMPad and BottleRock for allowing her to achieve her dreams.
Zamani performed at BottleRock 2024 day 3 at noon on the Prudential Stage.
Image courtesy of BottleRock Napa Valley
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Featured Image courtesy of BottleRock Napa Valley
