Sofar Sounds curate secret, intimate gigs in living rooms around the world.
Founders Rafe Offer, Rocky Start and David Alexander are passionate music fans who identified a common problem facing the world of live performance; noise and interruption. Acknowledging this, they decided to stage a small, intimate gig in their own home, inviting friends – some of whom were music, media and creative professionals. Guests were asked to arrive on time and stay for the duration of the show, reflecting their ethos of an uninterrupted performance. The event was a great success and soon word and demand for these gigs grew.
From that first gig held at home in 2009, Sofar now has over 28 events per month spanning 30 cities across USA, Australia, Europe and SE Asia. Sofar embrace the power of technology and have always live streamed their events, which lead to digital growth around the movement and has seen keen music fans discover new content and connect with the performers.
Sofar have developed a reputation for delivering high quality performers, with artists such as Bastille, Matt Corby, Dry the River and Reeps One performing at their gigs. They now source the performers almost entirely through recommendations and referrals from their ever expanding network.
One of the many appeals of a Sofar event is that you have no idea where the event is taking place, or who will be performing until you arrive. The event could be in a Brixton bedroom or a Manhattan millionaires apartment. Audience members apply via an email subscription to attend, guest lists are then curated based on a variety of aspects such as music passion, occupation, previous attendance and more.
Sofar has grown into a movement which prides itself on connecting music lovers to great musicians. They empower performers by putting them at the very heart of the gig and allowing the audience to enjoy performances in an undisturbed environment. Long may they continue.
Check out this video to see Sofar in action.
To listen to a Sofar gig, follow them on Mixlr and get notified when they’re next live.