WASHINGTON (WUSA9) — After someone canceled, freeing up a ticket, Aaron Henderson took up on his friend’s offer to attend a Sofar show. He did not know the location or the performer, but it at least guaranteed an experience no other D.C. venue could offer.
Let this be a lesson to all, when offered a ticket to a Sofar Sounds show, never turn it down.
Henderson recounts with a laugh, “I had been to pretty much every music venue in D.C., and it wasn’t any of those. So, we ended up showing up at some guy’s house…when you walk into someone’s house, you don’t expect someone like Ed Sheeran there.”
Ed Sheeran’s performance was one of 300 concerts. It was part of a global series, GIVE A HOME, which was coordinated by Sofar Sounds, and partnered with Amnesty International in September 2017. GIVE A HOME raised social awareness to World Refugee Day in over 60 countries by 1,000 artists in just 24 hours.
Sarah Lipman, Head of Communications, says this series represents the ethos of Sofar Sounds' mission, building a sense of community. Sofar Sounds curates live events in secret, intimate settings in 408 cities across the world.
What started as a small grassroots movement in 2009 is now on a global scale that many house performances cannot rival.
The founder, Rafe Offer, and friends noticed the lack of connectivity at concerts. Between people talking over the music, spilling beer, and blocking the view with a wall of phones, they knew there had to be a better way to listen to music.
So, Offer and friends hosted a gig in a London flat, and when subsequent shows drew a que of curious music fans down the street, they knew there was interest to reimagine the music listening experience.
Those ques of fans quickly spread to other shows in major cities, forming Sofar Sounds (stands for Songs from a Room). Others are taking notice of Sofar Sounds’ international reach, such as investor Richard Branson of Virgin Group. For musicians, Lipman states, “It is not only your growing your fanbase in your city, but you have the opportunity to grow a global fanbase”.
The focus of Sofar Sounds is based on supporting the artist and helping launch their career. With the platform of bringing in a captivated audience who might not have otherwise been tapped, Sofar Sounds also provides a digital assist by recording the performance in high quality videos.
With these professional videos, Lipman reinforces this idea: “Not only do we host the artist performance on our own Youtube channel, but then they have that as a piece of collateral to go out and use to showcase their own music. So, if it is booking another gig at a larger venue or it is trying to get signed by a label, that is a piece of collateral that they have to use to market themselves.” These high-quality videos have a striking impact on emerging artists’ careers.
Local D.C. musician Jonny Grave says, “Those photos and those videos have been indispensable for getting my foot in the door at venues that wouldn’t answer my email otherwise.”
Another local D.C. musician PJ Tabit of Vim & Vigor, agrees.
“That is a huge advantage of Sofar because they put together professional quality videos which are very expensive to produce as amateur musicians. So, that is something we use on our website and use promotional material that you would have to pay a lot of money for otherwise.”
Grave who has performed in over twenty Sofar Shows points out the lasting impact Sofar Sounds makes in musicians’ careers in the ever-shifting music industry. The confluence of online streaming and expense of high production concerts places financial constraints on emerging artists.
Graves says, “Record companies are not taking on new artists as they used to, like in the 90s, the 80s, certainly not like the 60s or 70s. It is up to musicians now to be their own songwriting team, tour manager, be their own booker, their own accountant. That is what I have to do to say afloat…This is what I have to do to make a living as a musician in the twenty-first century. Sofar Sounds offers a chance for musicians like me to network with other musicians, and at the very least open the door to future performances.”
The momentum of social media views have proven to shift the course of a musician’s career when breaking into the industry.
Sarah Lipman beams when talking about a NYC artist, YEBBA, who has roots with Sofar Sounds. Lipman says, “There is a local artist in NYC, her name is YEBBA, she is constantly being championed by high profile artists. She was recently featured on Sam Smith’s album, Ed Sheeran has tweeted about her, and the way that they all discovered her was through a Sofar sounds video.”
Sarah Lipman remembers going to her first Sofar show after moving to Los Angeles in 2012 for a job, not familiar with the city or too many people.
Lipman says, “I had to drive my car in LA traffic for an hour to get to the Hollywood hills and I was welcomed into somebody’s home to hear music and for me it was a moment of community, but it was also discovery for me. I was able to discover new music; I met new friends there and I discovered a new part of town. Every time I have moved to a different city, the first thing I do is sign up for the Sofar newsletter because it is another way for me to learn parts of a city that I am living in that I otherwise wouldn’t have”
“It is a great way to explore a community and a new city whether you are on vacation or if it’s your own," Lipman says. "It is the opportunity again to meet somebody new, live like a local, if that is what you are looking for...a really authentic travel experience, Sofar is able to provide that through music and through our community.”
Don’t wait to register for upcoming shows. At only $20 a ticket, often metro accessible and with some upcoming shows in D.C. listed as free, know that these performances can be sold out several weeks in advance. So, go on their website, get in que, and discover a new part of town, and possibly your new favorite musician, as you throw down a blanket and settle in for some songs from a room.
