Avery Sunshine

Have you been to the church of Avery Sunshine?

'Avery's talent is zeppelin-sized, her vocals so rich and listenable' The Express

'A radiant brand of soul delivered from the gut with a joyful smile' The Washington Post

The Sunshine world has its origins, 9 miles south of Philly, in Chester, Penn., and she has her parents to thank for her music fixation. At house-party jams, they'd drop the needle on records from Jimmy Smith to Nina Simone to Miles Davis. Those memories from as young as 5 years old remain lodged in Avery's brain.

From there, young Avery, a quiet loner, added more achievement badges to her uniform - from playing piano at age 7 to song writing. 'My mom said, 'Look, if I buy that piano, you gon' practice everyday,' And she meant just that.'

Since then, she's been putting in work. And the accolades have continued to pour in. In 2010, Avery won Best New Artist at the Reader's Choice Awards. The following year, JET Magazine named her one of their 5 rising Indie Artists. Flexing her theatre and thespian skills, Avery starred in the musical drama, I Dream, directed by Jasmine Guy, in addition to appearing on BBC2's Live with Jools Holland. Her song 'Like This' was featured in the TBS series, Franklin & Bash. And she appears on Will Downing's latest release, Silver, on the duet 'You Were Meant Just For Me.'

'We really do look at it as a ministry. It's a simple ministry, though,' says Dana Johnson (Avery's right-hand musical partner). 'On the debut record, there were a few songs that looked at what people might consider touchy or awkward and poked fun so people can say, 'I can relate to that.' .' It helps people connect to a very common, human element.' That's where the SHINE begins.