Toronto, ON/ Los Angeles, CA (Top40 Charts/ Skylar Entertainment) �Hard times for lovers of modern vintage soul [&] we can�t see too many artists with the capability to make up for the yawning gap. Hang on! We can offer our beautiful discovery as a consolation. �Editorial team, Mercedes-Benz Mixed Tape
Fans of
Amy Winehouse will definitely find solace in the lovely and talented Tara Priya, who has been compared to legends Billie Holiday, Etta James,
Ella Fitzgerald along with Winehouse and 60�s doo wop groups. Born & raised in San Francisco, CA and of Indian-Persian parentage, Priya combines vintage soul, poetic lyrics, and a dash of pop to provide relief from today�s Auto-Tune avalanche.
The great-niece of the famed Middle Eastern poet, Sohrab Sepehri, Priya has art in her blood. Piano & poetry began at 4, drums at 9; opera training commenced at 11, jazz voice added in high school. After winning two prestigious writing scholarships, Tara switched coasts to attend Columbia University, where she quickly settled down in NYC�s performance circuit.
Anxious to focus solely on music but reluctant to drop out like her Columbia inspira-tions (Alicia Keys, Lauryn Hill), Tara sped through school & graduated in 2.5 years with her BA in Economics. She returned to California to write & record her November 2010 eponymous EP & currently performs in LA, SF, and NYC.
Indie Week Toronto presented the opportunity to showcase in Canada and Priya couldn�t be more thrilled to perform.
Catch her during the Urban Showcase October 13th at Annex Wreckroom and two other showcases tbc. Indie Week runs October 12-16 at various venues around Toronto. www.indieweek.com
TARA PRIYA HIGHLIGHTS:
� Winner of the 18th Annual Billboard Song Contest, 03/2011
� Winner of the Great American Song Contest, 03/2011
� Winner of the Dallas Songwriters Contest, 05/2011
� #8, �Best Emerging Artists of 2010�, The Deli Magazine, 02/2011
� Top 25 finalist,
Music City Songwriting Contest , 12/2010
� 1 of 3 �Pop� finalists,
John Lennon Songwriting Contest, 09/2010
� Festival highlights include 2010 CMJ
Music Marathon; 2010 Miami
Music Festival; 2011 NAMM Show; San
Diego County Fair; 2011 Playground Festival; 2011 Indie Week Canada (October 12th�16th)
� �Tara Priya� is licensed to 12 television series across MTV, E!, Oxygen, & Showtime.
� �Tara Priya�, #2 Contemporary R&B album & #20 in Pop, Amazon.com in Japan, 05/28/2011
PRESS QUOTES:
�Sometimes it's easy to write off female pop artists here in LA, especially when so many are preened to become the soulless zombie fair that
Radio Disney adores. I reserved judgment before I hit play on Tara Priya & was pleasantly surprised. What came out was a slightly more demure version of
Amy Winehouse who obviously pays homage to 60's doo-wop, soul & jazz on tracks like "Wounded" & "
Expectations". The track "
Memories" breaks away a bit, but only to sound like other indie songstress Ingrid Michaelson, before slipping right back into an ar-rangements of horns.� -Angelo Lorenzo, The Deli Magazine
�Priya demonstrated a great range, jumping easily from deep & sultry soul, up to a trembling, frail falsetto coo, all the way back down to an assertive Aretha-esque growl.�
-Nick V., The Palo Alto Weekly
�Her sound is a throwback to the likes of Billie Holiday & Etta James, but never anachronistic. With influ-ences ranging from Tupac to opera, Tara has developed a powerful voice of her own.� �Carolyn R., The Blue & White
��Rollin�� is the sweet soul fruit of her endeavors, indeed a rollin� dose of
Memphis R&B blended with just enough hip-hop to keep it current. A great record. And did we mention Tara�s got a killer voice? Keep your eyes & ears open for this young lady.
-Michael Verity, CBS Radio.
