BIOGRAPHY

“One of the best singer-songwriters of our time” – Pop Culture Classics

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Maia Sharp’s 10th solo album, Tomboy is the sound of shifting perspective. Released on Sept. 12, it’s an ultra authentic Americana-adjacent record steeped in quiet gratitude, internal celebration, and a complete embrace of true self. Like all of Sharp’s solo work, Tomboy resonates profoundly by being so real, so personal, and so eloquently written.

 

Tomboy finds multi-instrumentalist Sharp revisiting her famously compelling songcraft and relatable lyricism with a more rhythmic and playful approach – like the tingling joy of stepping into the unknown, secure in the belief that, whatever happens, all will be okay. It’s also her first serious hands-on foray into digital sound, a new fascination with her OP-1 Field mini synth lacing Sharp’s traditionally organic instrumentation with fresh sonic nuances and nooks.

 

Raised in Los Angeles and lately based in Nashville, Sharp is the daughter of anthropologist Sharon Bays and Grammy-winning songwriter Randy Sharp (Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt etc.). Initially influenced by Bonnie Raitt, Rickie Lee Jones, Paul Simon, and her dad, Maia’s 30-year career has included writing songs for the likes of Trisha Yearwood (including recent single “The Wall Or The Way Over”), Keb’ Mo’ and Taj Mahal (including recent single “Junkyard Dog”), Cher, Raitt, and Art Garfunkel, while simultaneously earning a sizeable cult following and consistent critical acclaim for her own releases. 

 

Sharp’s 2021 album Mercy Rising rose from the aftermath of a two-decade marriage, while 2023’s Reckless Thoughts looked back at that chapter from the other side, absorbing lessons learned and exploring her subsequent move to Tennessee. Tomboy retains her signature poetic, confessional lyricism, expertly crafted songs, and a supple, finely grained timbre described by Ink 19 magazine as “like a snuggly hug from a close friend.”

 

This time, Sharp’s songs come from a period of, overall, perhaps unexpected contentment: relishing her nurturing creative community in Nashville; navigating single life in the age of dating apps; and very consciously appreciating her lot. The latter sentiment has been significantly shaped by Sharp’s long involvement with Songwriting with Soldiers, a non-profit that pairs veterans, first responders and law enforcement with pro songwriters to create music about whichever part of their experience they choose to share.

 

“The work I’ve had the privilege of doing with Songwriting with Soldiers has put me in a space that you can come back from anything,” mulled Sharp. “And the things that I thought ranked as a problem just don’t qualify as a problem anymore in the real scheme of things.”

 

In contrast to prior albums where Sharp liked to get all the musicians involved in the same room to track the songs before bringing them back to her studio, this time she shut herself away until the tunes were almost fully formed. Noticing that the first few she wrote like this were rhythm-forward pieces propelled by groove, Sharp ran with this approach for the entire album. Only she didn’t want traditional kick-and-snare drums involved. Instead, she generated hard-to-define percussive sounds on found objects and using her new favorite synth, and challenged percussionist Eric Darken (Bon Jovi, Carrie Underwood etc.) to delve deep into his vast collection of global and improvised instruments.

 

“He went to town,” Sharp recalled. “For each song he’d send me somewhere between ten and twenty tracks named things like ‘broom rattle,’ ‘hubcap,’ and ‘coffee bag’ – and it was always so cool!”

 

This bold approach permeates Tomboy’s ten tracks, giving the album and aura all its own and moods that sway between here-and-now introspection and semi-celebratory nostalgia without ever resorting to crutches of big beats or bombast. Self-produced at her home studio, with Sharp handling many of the instruments, Tomboy is also embroidered by talents from her circle: co-writers, featured artists, and contributing players including steel guitar from her dad on “Only Lucky,” electric guitar by Joshua Grange (Sheryl Crow, k.d. lang etc.); and stacked harmonies from the Grammy-nominated Garrison Starr on a crystalline rendition of U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”

 

First single “Tomboy” grew out of Sharp and co-writer Emily Kopp jokingly trading photos from their “tomboy” childhoods – an idea that carries over into the song’s lovingly nostalgic video (a second video will be created around photos submitted by fans). “‘Tomboy’ is looking back on being a tomboy my whole life and, fairly recently, coming to a place where I can completely celebrate it,” Sharp explained. “There are these moments where I look at my young self and think, ‘what a fearless little sh*t I was’ and also, ‘wow, what a scared little sh*t I was.’ It oscillated until I fully accepted that this is who I am, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Move on.”

 

With Sharp not in a relationship, she drew upon co-writer Emily West’s early-stage love affair at the time as inspiration for wonderfully delicate second single “Is That What Love Does,” an exquisite, multi-faceted vocal performance exploring the condition of deep human connection with rare candor and insight. Third single “Only Lucky” channels core Tomboy themes of appreciation for where you find yourself and embracing perspective shift (Sharp uses the example of being frustrated in a traffic jam only to realize that its cause is a fatal accident, immediately putting trivial pouting in its place.)

 

Following Tomboy’s release show at L.A.’s intimate Hotel Café on Sept. 12, Sharp’s touring behind the album will include Sisters Folk Festival in Oregon later that month, and a Nashville show for the city’s Lightning 100 radio station, Nashville Sunday Nights at Third & Lindsley, featuring the musicians who performed on Tomboy, on Oct. 5. Videos are being created for all of the album’s singles alongside shorter visualizers for every track.

 

“I always want somebody to feel the kind of connection to my music that I feel when I’m listening to music I love,” Sharp concluded. “I just have to put my real self out there and hope that someone connects with it.”