Finding Power In Pain

Sid Dorey isn’t afraid of the messy middle — in fact, they’ve built a home there.

The Florida-born, Nashville-based artist returns with Middle Seat, a soul-baring five-track EP that wrestles with themes of belonging, grief, and growing up queer in a world that rarely makes room for nuance. Where their debut Drama in Doses hinted at a raw emotional landscape, Middle Seat rips the curtain down completely, inviting us into a space where vulnerability is survival, and survival is a radical act.

Each track feels like a chapter in a coming-of-age novel you wish you had growing up. On Unlovable, Dorey explores internalized shame and the slow path to self-acceptance, while What Comes With Heaven questions inherited faith and the pain it can leave behind. These aren’t songs you casually vibe to — they’re songs that demand presence.

Dorey’s strength lies in how effortlessly they balance discomfort with catharsis. Their songwriting doesn’t shy away from pain, but it never romanticizes it. Instead, it mines that pain for connection. “This EP is about finding the right people, and choosing to stay,” they say — a mission statement that hits hard, especially for queer listeners navigating fraught family dynamics or religious trauma.

With millions of views across social platforms and placements in high-profile playlists, Dorey is quickly becoming a staple in the indie pop sphere. But they’re not interested in just breaking through — they’re here to build something sustainable. Something real.

And Middle Seat is just the beginning.

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