Riding a wave of generational change in the city’s music scene, Duluth’s Sophie Hiroko began writing songs as a teenager and found an audience last summer. In the fall, she recruited bassist Ned Netzel and drummer Tommy Kishida to help transform her songs into a fully formed sound that falls into the self-described genre of “tender bubblegrunge.” Kishida is leaving the band before Homegrown, but Leif Hinkel has stepped in to take over the drums. George Ellsworth was recently added on keys. Hiroko’s lyrics reflect the experience of “coming of age in Duluth as a queer woman, and coming from a multi-cultural family,” she said.
