Sonia Rao began writing to survive. Raised in an environment defined by control and silence, she had no language for what she was living through—so it went into journals, songs, and poems. That early practice became the foundation of her work.

Her work has been featured in Forbes and TED, and she has spoken at Microsoft, Disney, and organizations across the country. She has been honored by the Los Angeles City Council and exhibited at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center. She is a 2024 New York Foundation for the Arts Awardee for Music, awarded in partnership with the NYC Mayor’s Office.

Sonia has released three albums and toured internationally. Her songs have been featured in over 40 television shows and films, and she was named Buzzfeed’s “Asian American Artist to Watch.” A finalist on NBC’s The Voice, she is a classically trained multi-instrumentalist who sings and plays violin, piano, flute, guitar, and ukulele.

Across music, writing, and visual art, Sonia approaches creativity as a record of consciousness and reclamation.

She facilitates belonging workshops and offers creativity coaching. She studied psychology at UC Berkeley and DEI at Stanford University. She is queer and first-generation Indian American.