Music is a large part of any city’s culture. In big cities, music isn’t just part of it, it completes it. The Windy City holds the ghosts of blues clubs, gospel churches, and jazz that’s been played along the lakefront for generations. The City of Angels surges with constant reinvention, where you might catch a rock legend on the beach one night and an underground bedroom experiment in a local’s backyard the next. Both cities are places where art is woven into the air, and from that airspace, Sofar Sounds finds a home.
The Birth of Sofar Sounds
The idea was an intimate and secretive concert that creator Rafe Offer held for a couple of friends in a London Flat. This DIY project then turned into one of the best parts of big city art scenes and now operates in 400 cities around the world. Not just because of whoever is on the makeshift stage that night, but because of how it works and brings creative souls closer.
Not So Straightforward Tickets
Buying a ticket to a Sofar show is in no way straightforward. You choose a date and a neighborhood, but not a name or address. You don’t get the location of where you’re going or the name of the person you’ll see, just the guarantee that you’ll be one of the few who get to be there. The process feels old-fashioned in a way, and it builds anticipation.
Rotating Locations
The location isn’t revealed until the morning of the show, when an email is sent with just an address and no further instruction. It might be a familiar enough place that passes without noticing, but other times, you’ll end up sitting on someone’s living room floor, or leaning against an art gallery wall. The rooms you step into have range. It can be a rooftop under string lights, a warehouse where a single piano key lingers in the air like smoke, or an abandoned church that surely has seen an exorcism.
Sofar shows have three artists perform, each getting an equal time to play. Since the crowds are generally smaller than at a traditional concert, the artists are able to open themselves up in ways that feel intimate.
@sofarsounds Greenhouse acoustics might be undefeated 🎧 📍Sofar Boston, Sprout by Cityscapes 🎤 @Adia Clark Lay #SofarSounds #summerthingstodo #livemusic
♬ original sound – ℳ
From the Underground to Fame
These rooms have been the birthplace of artists who now sell out arenas. It’s been the beginning of Billie Eilish before she was scoring the Barbie movie, Leon Bridges before he won a Grammy, and Hozier before “Take Me to Church” appeared on Spotify Wrapped. They weren’t famous yet when they played these spaces; they were just another artist performing for people who wanted to listen.
Art Is Safe
In a noisy and fractured world, an artist space like Sofar can feel rare. It creates a safe space for artists to undress their talents with no phones in the way of the stage and no drunks shouting orders over the chorus. Artists are given full attention, allowing attendees to feel more present. You could throw a stick into the street and hit an artist in a city like Chicago, NYC, or L.A., and that can make a collective presence feel harder. Sofar is not your traditional concert series, but in a hard and uncertain world, it feels good to know that art can still make a room full of strangers feel safe.
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