Sofar So Good: Sofar Sounds Edinburgh & Glasgow

Founded in 2009, Sofar Sounds (Sofar standing for 'songs from a room') started as a passion project for London-based music lovers Rafe Offer, Rocky Start and Dave J. Alexander. They'd felt let down by recent gig experiences and decided to get some musician friends over to Alexander's flat for a low-key performance. Since then, Sofar Sounds has become a platform that enables an unexpected mix of artists and audiences to come together to celebrate what’s really important: the music. Gone are the extravagant light shows, the overpriced bar, and the extortionate ticket prices. In their place, a typical Sofar gig offers up new talent in an intimate venue and the chance to meet new, like-minded people. 

In order to deliver an out of the ordinary music experience, the people at Sofar had to come up with a model that was in itself pretty extraordinary. When you buy a ticket to a Sofar Sounds event, you do so without any prior knowledge of where it’s going to be within your chosen city, or who is going to be playing. It’s only the day before the gig that you are notified of the venue (which could be anywhere from a furniture shop to your best friend’s living room!) with the line-up being a secret right up until the beginning of the show. Even if you can’t make it to an actual Sofar gig, you can always catch it on their global YouTube channel, making sure you don’t miss out, no matter what your situation is. 

With regards to what’s on offer on the day, typically a show will consist of three performers, though organisers are free to shake things up however they see fit. Accordingly, a Sofar Sounds gig can feature spoken word poets, comedians, and even artists, in addition to musicians. The only certainty is that each performer is equally valued and respected, meaning there’s never any talk of ‘openers’ or ‘headliners’.

The idea might be somewhat unorthodox but it’s certainly caught on. What started as a two-man job in the UK's capital has now spread to over 350 cities worldwide, providing roughly 500 opportunities for artists to play each month. Here in Scotland, we have two active chapters, one in Edinburgh and one in Glasgow. We speak to Lucy Evans and Craig Dun to find out a little bit more about how the initiative works in their respective cities and what they’ve got planned for the future. 

Anyone familiar with the gigging scene in Edinburgh will be aware of the recent closures of several popular live music venues, as well as increasingly tough council restrictions. Evans comments: “I arrived in Edinburgh after The Picturehouse closed so couldn't mourn that, but it was so sad to see Electric Circus, and now Studio 24 go too. We are lucky in that, since we move spaces each time, we don't have all the same restrictions as fixed venues, which frees us up to use lots of different and interesting spaces in different areas.”

Unlike Edinburgh, in the midst of full-blown venue crisis, Glasgow’s gigging scene is going from strength to strength. As Dun puts it: “There are some amazing independent promoters in Glasgow at the moment (Synergy Concerts being the one that stands out the most) that work crazy hard at making the city one of the best cities in the country for live music. There are very few nights of the week right through the year where there isn’t a great show being put on. Bands of all genres and from all over the world too. It’s really exciting.”

Elaborating on why Glasgow is such a great place for Sofar, Dun says: “The sheer number and quality of bands is mad. We try as best we can to put on one show a month and we are spoilt for choice as to who we can book and the different places we can host shows.”

While Edinburgh can’t necessarily compete with Glasgow on these terms, Evans explains why Sofar works so well in the capital: “To me Edinburgh is a great sized city for Sofar – it's compact enough to have a connected and supportive music community but big enough to allow us to grow our audience while still being able to value those who love going to Sofars so much that they come back again and again.

“The secrecy of the venues also allows us to show people great spaces in areas of Edinburgh they wouldn't normally think about going to, for instance in June we had a gig at Chamber Studios in Granton – it was the first time most people had ventured that way but it's such an amazing place and the guys over there are just fantastic, so we were so thrilled to partner with them!”

Both chapters have events planned for July and August and continue to expand and grow so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for exciting Sofar news and events in Scotland. Additionally, the two cities will be hosting Give a Home events on 20 September, a collaboration between Sofar and Amnesty International in aid of refugees, which takes place on the same day in over 60 countries across the world. Uncharacteristically, certain acts have been announced ahead of time, with the Glasgow event set to feature Frightened Rabbit and The Fratellis, and the Edinburgh event serving as host to indie rockers The National ahead of their gig at the Usher Hall on the same night. 

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The Skinny have teamed up with Sofar Sounds Edinburgh to co-curate a special event in the capital on 20 Jul; Sofar Sounds Glasgow's next event is on 23 Jul in Shawlands
Apply for tickets to both events at sofarsounds.com