Her talent is obvious as soon as a soulful note omits from her mouth and her fingers charismatically press down on the keys of her piano as if they were a canvas. She doesn’t just perform. She paints a picture for her audience, a picture that symbolizes hope, heartbreak, love, and of course sunshine. Her shoulders continuously sway to the beat of the music as her eyes close in moments of deep thought and open animatedly to express her surprisingly human tales. With each dramatic and subtle movement of her hands, she instantly captures the attention of her audience and invites them to join her on her journey.

Avery Sunshine, also known as Denise Nicole White, is a soul artist from Chester, Penn., which is only 9 miles away from Philly. It’s no wonder that her musical performances can be compared to a religious experience. When she was 13 years old she was the choir director at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, according to her website averysunshine.com. As she performs, she often amps up the crowd in a very similar way as a preacher does at a Sunday morning sermon. Her music serves as a sermon for the struggles that we all go through in life. “I also sing about the promise of God; the promise that he will never leave me or forsake me. The idea of never being left alone somehow makes things easier to deal with. Burdens seem lighter,” says Sunshine in a MTV interview.