Daphne Willis

Singer-songwriter Daphne Willis has collaborated with other artists in multiple genres, including roots rock, hip hop, and EDM. For those collaborations, she has earned recognition for the precision and honesty of her lyrics, with her melodies also being acknowledged for their infectiousness. Her work has also been praised for its relevance and compelling nature. Willis was born March 10, 1987, in San Antonio, Texas. The family moved to Chicago in 1989, and though Willis began singing at a young age, she didn't begin to play the guitar until her high school years. By the time she went to college at DePaul University, she was performing at open mic nights, leading to more Chicago gigs, until she ultimately decided to leave school and pursue a career on the road. She and her band performed more than 200 shows across the Midwest in their first year. Her first EP, "Matter of Time," was released independently in September 2007. In 2008 she signed a deal with Vanguard Records, and released her second EP, titled "Exhibit." Her first full-length album, "What to Say," was released in 2010. A second album, "Because I Can," was released in 2011. She parted ways with the Vanguard label in 2012, and released "Live to Try" independently in 2014. She signed a worldwide publishing agreement with Sony ATV in 2016, and that fall released the EP "Get It," which featured a single co-written with Meghan Trainor, "Done With Being Done." She has also played over 1,000 concert dates throughout the U.S. over the past several years. Now based in Nashville, Willis has also seen her songs recorded by other artists and featured in such TV shows as "One Tree Hill" and "Empire," as well as featured in a Microsoft campaign.