Most artists could only ever dream of playing a venue like Madison Square Garden at the ripe age of 21, but Sofia Isella is not most artists.
The singer-songwriter is foraging her own path in the pop landscape, making music unlike anything you’ve ever heard on the radio, and look where it’s gotten her: In 2024, Isella opened for Taylor Swift at Wembley Stadium on The Eras Tour (ever heard of it?), and most recently, she secured a supporting gig on Florence + The Machine’s Everybody Scream tour. Thanks to Florence Welch and co., Isella got to play two nights at MSG and one night at Barclays — but anyone who saw her performance can tell you she’s well on her way to booking her own arena headlining show.
Here, the singer takes NYLON behind the scenes for the NYC shows, where, in true Isella fashion, she gave us a characteristically unglamorous look at the locker rooms and urinals at New York City’s most popular venues.
“It’s raining drugs and chocolate.”
“Avoiding being weak. I am strong. Even in the face of vague temptation.”
“Backstage in the locker rooms.”
“The teeth are babies !”
“They cropped out the male urinal I was leaning on.”
“I am in stage.”
“Kiss ! Kiss ! Kiss !”
“Goodnight.”
Photographs by Lauren Tepfer
