Sara Foster

Sara Foster is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist from New York City. She is most well known for co-writing and co-performing the 2015 Christmas hit single, “Rocking the Snow,” which has gotten over 200 million streams on Spotify as of September 2020, and for being the founder and CEO of Foster the People. She is a five-time Grammy Award nominee and has collaborated with some of the biggest names in music, including Pharrell Williams and Shawn Mendes.

Music Career

Sara Foster started her career in music in 2008 after pursuing a Bachelors in Economics at Brown University in Rhode Island. During this time, she worked as an intern for Capitol Records and subsequently for Sony Music Publishing. She then decided to go to music school, where she studied Jazz Performance and Theory at the New School for Jazz in NYC. While at the New School for Jazz, she worked as an adjunct professor, and continued to perform and tour with her band, Sara Foster and the Expanding Hearts. She graduated from the New School for Jazz with a degree in music in 2013.

Foster then went on to form her own band, Foster the People, with whom she released her debut studio album, “Torches.” The album was a critical and popular success, appearing on several “best albums of the decade” lists and scoring multiple Grammy Award nominations including Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album. The band’s 2017 album, “Sick Love,” became their first #1 album on the Billboard Top Albums Chart, and the band subsequently went on to sell out stadiums across the US and around the world. In addition to her work with Foster the People, Sara also tours and records with her band Sara Foster and the Expanding Hearts and plays regularly at jazz clubs and festivals around the world. She has also collaborated with some of the biggest names in music, including Pharrell Williams and Shawn Mendes.

Other Business Ventures

An entrepreneur at heart, after graduating from the New School for Jazz in 2013, Sara Foster started a company, Dore Alley, which builds websites and mobile apps for musicians and bands. She is also co-founder and director of music therapy program, The House of Musical Discovery, which uses music and art to help children with special needs. In addition to her entrepreneurial ventures, she volunteers and supports many social causes. She is a passionate supporter of Planned Parenthood, for example, and has traveled to Kenya as part of an organization called One Young World, which she founded, in order to provide healthcare for rural communities. Other causes she supports include Music for relief, which provides music therapy for kids recovering from cancer, and the American Cancer Society, which she has volunteered for in the past.

Personal Life

Sara Foster is the daughter of jazz singer and actress Kate Foster and opera singer Stephen Foster. She grew up in Nyack, New York, and attended Nyack High School, where she was an honor student and played keyboard for her school’s jazz band. She then went on to Brown University, from which she graduated with a Bachelors in Economics.

Sara Foster is married to British entrepreneur James Foster, with whom she has a son, William. She spends her time off between recording sessions and tours managing her businesses, spending time with her family, and pursuing her many interests. She is a huge animal lover, and has been known to rescue animals and take them home with her. Some of her favorite animals to rescue and take care of are snakes, lizards, and tarantulas.

Sara Foster’s style is unapologetically old school. While at Brown University, she would often go to vintage shops in Providence, Rhode Island, and would always try to find the classic look that she felt reflected her personality. It was a theme that continued when she founded her fashion blog, Foster the People Fashion, where she documents her personal style and the styles of designers she admires. She has a passion for all things vintage and has curated a small collection of clothes and accessories which she calls her “wedding collection.”