Raised in southern England, Naqvi began singing through school choirs and local community performances. Those early experiences gave her a strong foundation in ensemble work and helped her become comfortable performing in front of different audiences.
During her university years, she became increasingly interested in jazz and acoustic folk music, particularly the way both styles use interpretation and storytelling.
After moving to Chicago, Naqvi began building her career within the city’s independent music scene. She has performed at neighbourhood jazz lounges, intimate coffeehouses, private events, and seasonal festivals. Her work combines jazz standards with contemporary folk influences, with a strong focus on lyrics, atmosphere, and emotional connection.
Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi has also expanded her work beyond live performance. She offers occasional vocal coaching and songwriting sessions for aspiring musicians, while volunteering with youth music education programmes in Chicago. She has led beginner songwriting workshops and vocal sessions designed to help younger students become more confident in their creative abilities.
Her approach to her career is based on consistency rather than quick growth. She believes musicians benefit from developing several complementary skills, including performance, writing, teaching, and communication.
Outside music, Naqvi draws inspiration from photography, literature, Chicago architecture, independent venues, and local community events. These interests continue to shape both her songwriting and her broader approach to creative work.
Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi on Building a Sustainable Life in Music
How did music first become an important part of your life?
Music was around me from quite a young age. I grew up in southern England and started singing through school choirs and community performances. At that stage, I was not thinking about building a career. I simply enjoyed singing and being part of something with other people.
Those early group settings taught me quite a lot. You learn to listen as much as you sing. You learn that your part has to fit with everyone else’s part. I still think that is useful, even when I am performing on my own.
Later, during my university years, I became much more interested in jazz and acoustic folk. I liked that both genres allowed room for interpretation. A song did not have to sound exactly the same every time it was performed.
What attracted you specifically to jazz and folk music?
Storytelling was probably the biggest factor. Folk music can take something very ordinary and make it feel important. Jazz can take a familiar song and completely change its mood depending on the performer.
I became interested in that freedom.
With jazz standards, I enjoy thinking about phrasing and how much space to leave in a song. With folk music, I am often more focused on the words and the story. Combining those influences gives me a way to work somewhere between structure and freedom.
That balance also keeps performing interesting. Even if you know a song well, you are still responding to the room and the people listening.
How did moving to Chicago affect your career?
Chicago gave me a much broader view of what a working music career could look like.
The city has an enormous musical history, but what struck me most was how active the smaller creative communities are. There are musicians performing in neighbourhood venues, coffeehouses, jazz rooms, festivals, and private events. You realise that a music career does not have to follow one exact route.
I gradually became involved in those kinds of spaces. Smaller venues taught me a lot because audiences are close to you. You can tell immediately whether a song is connecting.
That environment helped me become more comfortable with a quieter style of performance. I do not feel that every song needs to be dramatic. Sometimes a more restrained performance can have a stronger effect.
What have you learned about treating music as a profession rather than only a creative interest?
You need structure.
Creativity is important, but there are also practical things that need to happen. You have to prepare material, communicate with venues, keep songs organised, practise regularly, arrive prepared, and be able to adjust when something changes.
I think consistency is more useful than waiting until you feel inspired.
Some days might be focused on singing. Another day might involve writing, organising material, or helping someone with a vocal session. Those things all contribute to the same career.
It is easy to imagine creative work as spontaneous, but a lot of it is actually routine.
How has vocal coaching influenced you as a performer?
Teaching forces you to explain things that you might otherwise do instinctively.
If someone is struggling with breathing, confidence, or phrasing, simply telling them to sing better is obviously not useful. You have to understand what is happening and find another way to explain it.
That has made me more aware of my own habits.
I also enjoy seeing people become more comfortable with their voices. Some people come into a session thinking there is a particular type of voice they are supposed to have. I try to move them away from that idea.
A large part of singing is learning how to work with the voice you actually have.
Why is youth music education important to you?
Young people should have opportunities to experiment creatively before they start judging themselves too harshly.
In beginner songwriting workshops, I like using simple prompts. I might ask someone to write about a place they know well or describe something they noticed on the way to the session. That is often easier than telling someone to simply write a song.
The aim is to make creativity feel manageable.
You do not need to begin with a huge idea. A song can start with a street, a room, a memory, or one sentence.
I think that is useful for young people because it shows them that their own observations can be worthwhile.
What other interests influence your work?
Photography has probably had the biggest influence outside music.
I enjoy street and urban photography, particularly around Chicago. It makes you pay attention to small details, architecture, light, movement, and people going about their day.
That way of looking at things translates quite naturally into songwriting.
Reading is similar. I enjoy classic British literature as well as contemporary fiction. Good writing makes you think about character, pacing, and what information should be left unsaid.
Those things are useful when writing songs as well.
What does career progress look like to you now?
I try not to measure everything in terms of one big breakthrough.
Progress can mean becoming a stronger performer, writing something better than you wrote six months ago, working with new musicians, helping someone become more confident, or finding another venue where your music fits.
Creative careers often develop in stages.
I think it is healthier to focus on building something steadily and staying interested in the work. If you can keep learning, keep performing, and keep finding meaningful ways to contribute, you are still moving forward.
