In Rotation: Grace Sorensen

Opening for Diana Ross is a monumental task for anyone, let alone an artist who just dropped her debut album. But Grace Sorensen earned that stage. The singer has been the connective tissue in Austin’s bubbling R&B and rap scenes for a minute now. If you bumped BLK ODYSSY’s BLK VINTAGE project, you already heard her vocals elevating the mix. She’s traded energy with local rap heroes Magna Carda and hit the stages at SXSW and ACL Fest. She is putting in the actual groundwork in a city historically known for guitars, carving out space for pure soul. Her debut LP, BLUEPRINT, arrived in February 2025. She could have let the record breathe and moved on to the next batch of songs. Instead, she linked with Magna Carda’s Megz Kelli and Kimiko Matsuda-Lawrence—the directing duo FLYPAPER—to expand the project into a short film this past August. Sorensen noted the visual album "allows people to slow down, and I think the right people will want to indulge in something a little more long-form." Most indie visual albums are just expensive vanity projects with zero narrative tissue. Sorensen’s sh*t actually works. It roots her richly produced R&B in a physical space, exploring her relationship with herself and her Texas roots. The music itself relies on heavy, immersive instrumentation, giving her voice a wide pocket to operate within. She builds a world you actually want to sit in and digest. You can see that clear creative direction in her latest official video for "VIDEO GIRL," alongside the recent visual for "Can't Kiss and Forget." The momentum is spilling out of the Southwest. College and independent radio stations from Atlanta’s WREK to Austin's KUTX and KOOP are throwing her tracks into heavy rotation. She’s building a catalog meant to last. Hit play below.