Following the building momentum of noteworthy releases, national performances and festival plays including stops at MajorStage, Sofar Sounds and iHeartRadio in NYC under a former stage name, R&B singer-songwriter Ria Barkr surrendered to the universe and began looking inward during the global shutdown. As a result, she tapped into a fountain of creativity that flowed out of the chanteuse and into a fresh collection of new songs. Ria is also no stranger to the stage, having shared the stage with Broadway performers Gary Mauer (Phantom, Les Mis.), Denise DiRenzo (Cats, A Chorus Line), David Elder (White Christmas, 42nd St.), and Cary Miller (Saturday Night Fever, Little Women) and even making it on America’s Got Talent at just 14 years old.However, it was 2018 when Ria, first began to take center stage. After a studio session with renowned jazz pianist and composer Jeff Franzel (Frank Sinatra, Josh Groban, The Temptations), who admired her rendition of Etta James’ “At Last,” Ria was ready to begin singing her own truth.Following being discovered online by two producers across the pond in 2018, it was a musical match made in heaven as the craft of songwriting poured out of her. In 2020, they met for the first time and spent a month in London producing 20 songs, 7 of which are going on her debut EP. Now, Ria is already a promising R&B trailblazer in her own right who’s not afraid to change the game.