Joy in Sharing Music: Sound Off! Alumni Artist Spotlight

Sound Off! 2024 may be all wrapped up, but there’s still plenty of NW music to explore! We’ve got a soft spot for Sound Off! alums, so let us introduce you to a crowd-favorite Cherry Ferrari.

Seattle’s Cherry Ferrari are singer and writer Emma Wang and producer and keyboardist Oliver Crosby. The duo brought their energetic blend of rock-funk disco-pop to Sound Off! in 2022 and 2023 and are currently taking the NW music scene by storm with performances ranging from the Moore Theatre to indie house shows to the Capitol Hill Block Party.

Can you share some background information such as your band name, what genre of music you play, and what year you participated in Sound Off!?

Oliver and I have been friends since fifth grade, and with his background in jazz and my interest in pop, we make a lotta disco funk-inspired pop music. We performed as Cherry Ferrari in Sound Off! 2023.

Can you share a couple of your biggest achievements since participating in Sound Off!?

Playing THING Festival and Capitol Hill Block Party was so, so, so much fun. Getting to perform on the same stage as the artists we admire really got us excited for the kind of possibilities that lie ahead. Another one I’m proud of is having to miss my junior prom I helped plan since our performance on The Paramount stage landed on the same day!

Can you describe your best show since Sound Off!? What made it memorable?

We have two favorites:

We did our first headliner at Neumos last August!! It was the first show where we got to design our own background visuals, hire a professional photographer (shout out to Jonathan Ochoa!), and sell our merch. It was also the second show we got to play with Aurora Ave. (another Sound Off! alum) and we even did a big finale song together!
Another memorable one is a house show we played with Evil House, a concert collective hosting DIY shows around the city! It was so amazing to see that the people working the show were all there just because they loved bringing people together through music. I remember it was outdoors and freezing, but the audience that night was so hype, singing and dancing along to every song like crazy.

What areas did Sound Off! help you grow in?

Definitely building our confidence in performing live. I remember performing at the Sky Church for the first time as a solo act; I was TERRIFIED to even move a muscle in front of that huge crowd. But shortly after that first show we started performing more around the city, and we found freedom to express ourselves and discovered the joy in sharing our music with others, whether it was a sold-out crowd or a small bar venue.

What’s next for Cherry Ferrari?

We’re playing our first show in a minute at Barboza this June and Capitol Hill Block Party in July! Also playing shows in New York and LA this summer which is so exciting!! Gotta new single comin’ up before the summer too.

Follow along with Cherry Ferrari on Instagram: @cherryferrarimusic

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