Sonya Kitchell (born March 1, 1989, in Ashfield, MA) is an American singer-songwriter. Kitchell formed her first band and began writing music in 2001. In 2004 Sonya signed with

Velour Records Velour Recordings is an American record label founded in 1999 in New York City by Jeff Krasno and Sean Hoess. Signed artists include * The Cat Empire * Soulive * Kaki King * Melissa Errico * Maktub * Topaz * Lettuce * Kudu * Baba * Sonya Kitc ...

and was named the second

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...

Hear Music Hear Music was a record label that was founded in 2007 in a partnership between Concord Music Group and Starbucks. Hear Music began as a catalog company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1990 before being purchased by Starbucks in 1999. Conce ...

Artist, releasing her first international-selling record, '' Words Came Back to Me'' on

. She has toured globally to Japan, Europe and across the U.S. many times in support of the album. Kitchell has appeared on numerous late-night TV shows, including the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

'', ''

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airing from January 3, 2005, to December 19, ...

'',

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

and garnered rave reviews from the ''

LA Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', ''

NY Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' and

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

. She has appeared in venues such as

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

and The

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

, amongst numerous notable stages around the world. In 2007 she joined forces with

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

, singing on his

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-winning

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

tribute titled '' River: The Joni Letters''. Hancock invited Kitchell to join him on tour, to sing in his band, in support of the record for the following year. That gave her the chance to work alongside such notables as

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Davi ...

Milton Nascimento Milton Nascimento (; born October 26, 1942), also known as Bituca, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has toured across the world. Nascimento has won five Grammy Awards, including Best World Music Album for his alb ...

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

, and many more. Shortly after her year spent touring with Hancock, Kitchell released her second album '' This Storm'' in 2008 on

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

, produced by

Malcolm Burn Malcolm Burn (born October 4, 1960) is a Canadian-born music producer, recording engineer and musician. Emmylou Harris's ''Red Dirt Girl'', produced by Burn, won Best Contemporary Folk Album at the 2001 Grammys. Biography Born in Cornwall, Ontar ...

, in collaboration with renowned rock band, The Slip, to much critical acclaim. In 2009, Kitchell joined forces with long-time friend and collaborator Garth Stevenson, and together they created a collection of string-quartet based music. The album '' Convict of Conviction'' was released in 2010, produced by Stewart Lerman. Over the next year Kitchell explored a more dramatic, cinematic side to her music performing as Sonya Kitchell & The Brooklyn Strings. Her songs have appeared on numerous TV shows and films including '' Perfect Stranger'', ''

Private Practice Private practice may refer to: *Private sector practice **Practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiati ...

'' and ''

The Unit ''The Unit'' is an American action-drama television series created by David Mamet that aired on CBS from March 7, 2006, to May 10, 2009 with the total of four seasons and 69 episodes. The series focuses on a top-secret military unit modeled aft ...

''. She lives in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, NY and released her latest self-produced album, " We Come Apart" in partnership with "

Thirty Tigers Thirty Tigers is an American entertainment company which offers music marketing, distribution, and management services to independent artists. It is based in Nashville. History The company was founded in 2002 by David Macias and Deb Markland ...

" and "

Rockwood Music Hall Rockwood Music Hall is a music venue at 196 Allen Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Owner Ken Rockwood, aka "The Professor", opened the establishment in 2005 as a small bar and music venue. Today, the venue features ...

" in January 2016.

Personal life

Kitchell was born in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. Growing up in

Ashfield, Massachusetts Ashfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,695 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Ashfield was first settled in 1743 and was offi ...

. She is the daughter of photographer / artist Peter Kitchell, and illustrator Gayle Kabaker and has a younger brother, Max Kitchell.Teen Vogue interview
/ref>

Discography

*''Cold Day'' EP (

Velour Recordings Velour Recordings is an American record label founded in 1999 in New York City by Jeff Krasno and Sean Hoess. Signed artists include * The Cat Empire * Soulive * Kaki King * Melissa Errico * Maktub * Topaz * Lettuce * Kudu * Baba * Sonya Kitc ...

, 2005) *'' Words Came Back to Me'' (

, 2006) *'' This Storm'' (

, 2008) *''Convict of Conviction'' ( 429 Records, 2010) *''We Come Apart'' (

Relativity Media Relativity Media is an American media company founded in 2004 by Lynwood Spinks and Ryan Kavanaugh. The company brokered film finance deals and later branched into film production and other entertainment ventures. The company was commercially s ...

, 2016)

References

External links

Official Site
* Dye, David
"Sonya Kitchell's Precocious Debut: 'Cold Day'"
''

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

'' radio, Originally aired October 18, 2005. * Gallant, Doug
"Sonya Kitchell is a star on the rise"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', April 28, 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kitchell, Sonya 1989 births Living people American child singers American women singer-songwriters Decca Records artists Singer-songwriters from Massachusetts Guitarists from Massachusetts People from Ashfield, Massachusetts 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American singers