Today we’d like to introduce you to Sophia Hermosilla.
Hi Sophia, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m a mother of twin boys who works a full time job in construction by day, and promotes and sings in my own cover band on nights and weekends. The Fire Rhythms Band is a project I began in April of this year, and now in November, we are already booking out for 2026 and have developed a growing fanbase in Central Florida in a very short time.
I have always been a singer, recording for clients and writing songs and jingles out in Los Angeles, where I lived for almost thirty years. Fast forward to the year 2020 – I packed up my family and moved from L.A to Deltona. Once we were settled, I immediately got to work finding a band to perform with. Things moved quickly. I joined an 8 piece Top 40 cover band in 2021, and after performing with them for three BUSY years all over Central Florida, I made the decision to leave the band. There were many factors, but one important reason was that the image and sound of the band was changing, and it wasn’t heading in a direction I felt aligned with.
After a few months of rest, and being convinced by a colleague, I decided to form my own band (totally not on my radar) with the image and sound I had in my head. Edgy. Bilingual. Extremely versatile. The ability to connect authentically with audiences from all walks of life through music became my ultimate goal, so that’s what I set out to do.
The biggest challenge was to find dedicated, excellent musicians who could authentically play the range I was looking for: everything from merengue to hard rock, from disco to cumbia, even country. The best (known) musicians are usually already playing in other bands. I got on social media and started connecting with different people through musicians groups. That’s how I met the bassist who is with me now – Deco Oliveira, a Brazilian monster of a musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist, and a 2 time Latin Grammy award winner for arrangements he’s produced. Above all that, he’s a class act and a kind soul. Once I started working with him, everyone else just came on board very naturally. We became a band made up entirely of Brazilians and Caribbeans who just love all genres. It worked so well. From there, I chose the name, launched the website, designed the logo and branding, organized our first rehearsals and photoshoots, and got to work promoting the band from zero. Did I know exactly what I was doing? Not really. I don’t know where the energy and drive came from. Running the show is a whole other level than just fronting the band as a singer; everything is on you. But when something is yours, I think it gives you a certain hunger. It becomes your baby.
By May, we landed our first gig as a last minute replacement for a cancellation over at Good Times Bar and Grill in Maitland. We had four days to get the set list ready and it was ON. With a cell phone video my sister took from that fluke gig, I started submitting everywhere. That cell phone video opened the door for us, shockingly, at the Villages Entertainment as one of our first gigs. I had performed there before, so I knew how hard it was to get into. For a completely unknown band to make it on their roster was insane! Since May, we’ve been performing on their Town Squares, along with places like Boxi Park, Clermont Brewing Company, Daytona One, and the list keeps growing. Next year, we’ll be at Old Town Kissimmee and are in talks with Latitude Margaritaville in Daytona (keep your fingers crossed for us)! We’ll be bringing a full-range percussionist from Puerto Rico on board in February, allowing us to tackle the initial goal of incorporating authentic tropical music into our sets, while still keeping our classic rock and 80s on showcase.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No road worth traveling is ever smooth, especially going in as a student. So many emails and calls to venues have gone unanswered. We’ve had rough gigs, sound problems, sickness, double bookings where we’ve been cancelled, lost car keys during load in, set list confusions, and many lessons learned through it all. Thankfully, I’ve been mentored by a couple of great industry pros who have taken me under their wing to show me the ropes, and I am beyond grateful.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We are a multilingual party band that performs American Top 40 music, Rock, and Funk, along with Tropical Caribbean and Brazilian music. What we’re most proud of is serving up a variety that not many bands can offer, and transitioning seamlessly through genres with no change in quality or authenticity. We perform ACDC true to the full rocked out sound it deserves, and we play Balada Boa like we’re on the streets of São Paulo!
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The wedding and party band industry is absolutely changing. There are positives – a growing Florida population means a greater need for more varied entertainment. The negatives include the lack of growth in budgets for entertainment due to current economic constraints on restaurants and live music venues, leading bands to downsize in order to receive a fair pay for their work. A lot of musicians still make the same pay they used to 15, even 20 years ago, which cannot be said for most industries.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thefirerhythms.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firerhythmsband
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Sugc2XA6G/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thefirerhythms
