σοφία: Wisdom in the Wandering
- Aug 6, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: 5 hours ago
By Grace Thompson
Sophia (σοφία) is the ancient Greek word for wisdom, often associated not just with intellect, but with lived experience and spiritual insight. It is considered a divine virtue, something to aspire to rather than possess. For the band, Sophia, the name doesn’t feel ornamental. Wisdom as a way of listening, of being open, and staying rooted. That intention is embedded in everything they do.
I saw them for the first time at the Royal American in Charleston after a friend insisted I had to see them live. It wasn’t this casual recommendation; it felt almost urgent.
Like, you have to see this, just trust me.
The room was humid and scattered with people mid-conversation, still settling in.
Towards the back, I was absorbing the full scene while bracing against the thick July air. From there, I watched them walk onto the stage and meet all of that disconnected energy.
This five-piece from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Sophia brought a calm intensity that anchored everything around them. The band is made up of members: JMike, Jett, Rocky, Salem, and Matt. They led with care and without hesitation. You could almost feel a spiritual force in the room, as their performance seemed to come from somewhere deeper.
Q: How does your history with being a part of a church impact how you perform and write?
A: This is a HUGE part of music for us all! Church, especially music in the church, at its best, is to be very worshipful and community-driven! We all take our live shows incredibly seriously for those reasons. There’s nothing more powerful and impactful for us than being worshipful through our music.
Their EPs, HEALING (2022) and WANDERING (2025), are curated like emotional chapters.
HEALING opens with ‘HVN’, setting a beautiful tone. It begins stripped back, and feeling like it belongs to just one person alone in that moment. Then it becomes fuller and heavier, the vocals carry so much meaning, and it propels the song forward.
As you continue listening, it becomes wildly apparent that these aren’t just songs, but they’re phases in someone’s life.
“Glass”, the first track on WANDERING, reminded me of “Pure Imagination” from the original Willy Wonka film, and I was told that connection was intentional. The charm is that both of these songs lean on soft entry points and subtle harmonic shifts to create something immersive. “Pure Imagination” is full of extended and unexpected chords that give it a haunting beauty. “Glass” doesn’t mimic that structure, but it speaks the same language. While “Pure Imagination” moves upward in wonder, “Glass” lures you in with a sullen feeling rather than a fantasy.
JMike: That’s such a crazy observation, I’m shocked anyone picked up on that! Before living together, Jett was staying with me at my mom’s apartment, and we watched the original Willy Wonka film. It’s just such a magical movie. I’ve always been captivated by Gene Wilder’s performance in it. I find that the "Pure Imagination" theme holds this perfect mix of beauty, melancholy, and a slight eeriness, and that’s the tone I wanted our recent project to start with.
WANDERING is the completion of a cycle, songs written in 2020, finally released in 2025. You can feel the time they spent with them. The themes, the pacing, the arrangements; the EP wanders just like its title. Listening to it feels voyeuristic, like following someone through a quiet process of change.
My personal favorite on the EP is NIHILIST. Positioned at the heart of the track list, it feels like the breaking point, where everything that's been building underneath finally comes undone. A touch cathartic. The vocal tension builds and cracks open into something jagged.
During the set, I stood near the sound booth, surrounded by members of the other bands on the bill. Some tuned their instruments while others quietly tuned into Sophia's set. I kept my notebook open, writing down whatever I didn't want to forget.
Beside me, someone was filming the set on his phone. I turned and held up my notebook, where I'd scribbled "I love Sophia" across the middle of the page, mostly as a joke. He smiled and motioned for me to hold it up to the camera.
After the set, he introduced himself as John, the band's manager. That's also when I realized he hadn't been recording a video; he'd been livestreaming the whole thing.
That's the story of how I accidentally got an interview with Sophia.
Q: Rather than just writing and performing, it seems like you guys are offering pieces of yourselves and inviting others to join the message - Is this a conscious decision, to leave the doorway open?
A: Absolutely. If we’re not giving all of who we are to our music and the stage, the audience won’t believe it. I feel our generation can see through facades so easily, so we all take genuine connection incredibly seriously. And it starts with us as a family; if we’re not on the same page as brothers, it often feels forced. We always want people to feel that there’s something more for them, that there is more to this crazy life and world we live in. That’s everything to us; everyone deserves that reality.
After their set, I met them outside at one of the picnic tables. It started with JMike and John, but the rest of the band appeared gradually, until suddenly we were all sitting there. We just talked.
About growing up.
About everything that matters.
Revisiting their set, there was a key moment right before launching into “Wander”, the final track on their EP.
“Music unites us...be the person that someone can lean on, but also, don’t be scared to lean on a person.”
It didn’t sound like something written down, but something he had remembered. The line between giving and receiving blurred; it felt like the whole room softened in that moment.
Q: You said on stage, “Don’t be scared to lean on a person.” What does this mean to you guys?
A: Especially as guys, from our own experience and our observations of all people, it can be very difficult to lay down your pride and desire to control. The desire to “be strong”. When we do that, there are times that it keeps us from owning up to our failures or struggles. We say that every show because a lot of times it’s easy to be the person someone can lean on, but truly leaning on someone else can be much harder to do. But we believe it is absolutely crucial to live a good life. And we desire to practice what we preach, so others can feel encouraged to do the same.
You can tell music is what keeps them steady, what helps them understand themselves. But it’s not just for them. It’s made to be shared. Their songs leave an empty space for you to find your meaning inside of them. Shining a light on the parts of you that might’ve gone dark without you even realizing. That’s what makes it powerful, that you can feel that they write from an honest place.
They’re not trying to be anything other than themselves and to share their message.
That music can be a mirror.
That feeling doesn’t belong to just one side of the stage.
That we’re not as separate as we think.
Interviews conducted by Grace Thompson for Enemy Magazine.
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