Join pianist/keyboardist Sova as she tours in celebration of her new LP, Alight!, due out September 4 via Hout Records. With an opening set from Philadelphia-based composer and multi-instrumentalist Isak Gaines. 

A Man Full of Trouble
127 Spruce St
Philadelphia, PA

7:00 PM

Sova

"Ghostly, delicate, elegant..." (Independent Clauses)

For Sova — the moniker of Upstate New York-based pianist/composer Sophia Vastek — the piano has always been home. A second generation pianist, she holds a deep reverence for her history, coupled with an exploratory ear, and moves quietly between musical worlds. Described as performing with "passion and profound tenderness” (Second Inversion) and “serene strokes and lyrical beauty” (Brooklyn Rail), her intuitive playing style has evolved into a dynamic, cinematic sound that blends neoclassical, ambient, and jazz sensibilities.

Sova's new LP, Alight!, is due out September 4 via Hout Records. The new record extends the breakthrough Sova achieved on her last LP In Our Softening, a sublime solo record of original music, performed on a modest 1902 upright piano with softened hammers and a cracked soundboard. On Alight!, she broadens her conception to include contributions from a clutch of noteworthy fellow travellers: Spencer Zahn (fretless bass guitar), Clarice Jensen (cello), Evan Chapman (drums & electronics), Max Yassky (drums), and Sam Torres (saxophone and more).

Learn more at https://sova.music

Isak Gaines

Isak Gaines is an award-winning composer, producer, audio engineer, and multi-instrumentalist. He has collaborated with artists like Michael Brook (Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan) and Donald Palma (Orpheus Chamber Orchestra), and was mentored by Grammy-winning producer and arranger Robert Sadin (Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter). He has performed at major venues around the world including Auditorio Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, The Guggenheim Museum in NYC, and the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia. In 2025 he composed the original score for Lisse - a contemporary ballet which premiered in a run of five shows at the Joyce Theater in New York. His work has been recognized by organizations like the International Antonin Dvorak Composition Competition, ASCAP, Downbeat Magazine, and the Tribeca New Music Festival. Born and raised in Seattle, he moved to NYC at age 19 to study music performance and composition at The New School. After graduating, he relocated to Philadelphia, where he currently resides.

Learn more at https://isakgaines.com