Sofar Sounds

Sofar Sounds
Industry Music
Founded 2009 (2009)
Founder Rocky Start, Rafe Offer, Dave Alexander
Website https://www.sofarsounds.com

Sofar Sounds (or Songs from a Room) is a programme whose members sign up to it in order to be invited to a private concert. The events started in London in March 2009[1] by Rafe Offer, Rocky Start and Dave Alexander.[2] The lineup for the concert is not disclosed until each event starts, while the location is announced only the day before.[3] The ethos behind this is that highlighting headlining acts encourages people to turn up late and not respect the other performers.[4] All genres are welcome to apply to perform. Local city leaders[5] and their review teams curate the evenings.

There are now more than 100 Sofar Sounds gigs each month, many of which are hosted in members’ living rooms.[6] Sofar has communities in more than 200 cities worldwide.[7]

Musicians, bands and artists can sign up to play at events, choosing to be paid from voluntary attendee contributions via a hat[8] being passed around the audience (or in some cities, digital donations), or having their gig filmed, edited into a video and uploaded to the Sofar Sounds YouTube channel [9] which is also shared on the website. Some gigs are live-streamed. Typically, three artists perform at each gig.[10] Emphasis is placed on the crowd being respectful – switching off their phones and listening.[11] Many cities have wait lists for attendance.[12] There are around 2,000 requests for each London gig, but invitations to the purposely-small gig are extended to only 50-60 of those applicants. In June 2015 Sofar Sounds teamed up with Uber to host a series of secret gigs.[13]

UK acts who have participated include James Bay, Wolf Alice and Bastille, who raised money for charity War Child.[14] Will Young was a surprise guest[15] and there has been an appearance from Robert Pattinson[16] and Yeah Yeah Yeahs front woman Karen O.[17][18] Some US acts include X Ambassadors, Leon Bridges and Fantastic Negrito, while acts such as Núria Graham and Ali Somay have played Sofar Barcelona[19][20] and Sofar Istanbul[21] respectively.

References

  1. ↑ "Sofar Sounds", Sofar Sounds, 7 January 2015, retrieved 26 July 2015
  2. ↑ The Guardian, The Guardian, 27 April 2014
  3. ↑ Hoogstraate, Nina. "Arts London News". Arts London News. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  4. ↑ "Crack in the Road", www.crackintheroad.com
  5. ↑ "LinkedIn". LinkedIn.
  6. ↑ "Cambridge News". Cambridge News. Cambridge News. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  7. ↑ "The Georgia Straight". The Georgia Straight.
  8. ↑ Fryatt, Linsey. "Venture Village". Venture Village. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  9. ↑ "Sofar Youtube", Youtube, retrieved 26 July 2015
  10. ↑ Li, Yue. "East London Lines". East London Lines. East London Lines. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  11. ↑ "East End Review". East End Review.
  12. ↑ Polyak, Kenneth. "Ny Magazine". New York Magazine. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  13. ↑ "Event Magazine". Event Magazine. Event Magazine. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  14. ↑ Observer, Observer, Observer Music, 24 February 2015, retrieved 26 July 2015
  15. ↑ Corner, Lewis. "Digital Spy". Digital Spy. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  16. ↑ Cowan, Matt. "Reuters". Reuters Video. Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  17. ↑ Ryzik, Melena. "New York Times". Ny Times. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  18. ↑ Reilly, Dan. "The Spin". The Spin. The Spin. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  19. ↑ De Puig, Carla. "La Vanguardia". La Vanguardia. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  20. ↑ Elwes, Emily. "SH Barcelona". SH Barcelona. SH Barcelona. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  21. ↑ Akyildiz, Tolga. "Hurriyet". Hurriyet. Hurriyet. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
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