Music lovers rejoice: Sofar Sounds comes to London

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: ADRIENNE ELIZABETH
Taylor Holden plays in front of an attentive and sold out room at a Sofar show on Sept. 15.

A new arts organization is bringing the magic back to live music. Sofar Sounds held two intimate London concerts in the month of September and is already preparing for a concert on Oct. 20.

This isn't your typical concert; Sofar concerts take place in unique locations, which are only revealed the day before the show. Performers are a secret until the night of the show, bringing an air of mystery and excitement. Admittance is limited as to not crowd the location.

London joins over 200 cities worldwide that host Sofar concerts. The organization was born in London, U.K., when two friends decided their local music scene could be improved. The pair was unhappy with the majority of local shows they attended; most took place in noisy bars where the emphasis was not on the music. The two threw together a house concert, inviting up-and-coming musicians to play for an audience that they promised would be there mainly to experience the music.

“The idea behind it was to connect the musicians to an audience that was going to listen to them,” said Adam Helmers, team leader of London, Ont's Sofar Sounds.

Helmers moved to London a few years ago and found London's arts scene to be a bit lacking, at least what he could see of it. Friends in Fanshawe's music industry arts and Western's music program helped show him that there was more to London than he initially thought.

“There's a massive artistic and creativity scene here that makes this city great, that gives this city the potential to be a great place to live,” Helmers said.

The concerts aim to unite music lovers and provide them with the best new live music possible. While the secrecy and intimacy of the concerts may seem a bit gimmicky at first glance, it really does change the way you think about the musicians and their performance.

“You're experiencing the artist as another human being who's just creating something and they want to show it to you and they want you to hear it,” Helmers said.

While the music comes first, the concerts also serve as a gateway of sorts for London's music and arts scene.

“The community of people who attend Sofar is the exact same community that would love to hear about the other arts organizations in the city,” Helmers said.

The concerts also serve as a way for those unfamiliar with the city to learn about it. “I feel like downtown isn't explored as much as it could be. We look for places that will help people get to know their community.”

While the organization has mainly focused on downtown, they plan to branch out to different areas of London such as Old East Village or Byron.

Building this community for the sake of music is something that is important to Sofar Sounds. The organization is entirely volunteer- based; the only people getting paid for the shows are the performers and the audio and video technicians. Performers either get paid directly through donations at the door or indirectly through a professionally produced music video.

Response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive. Sofar's last two shows have sold out — even after extra spots were made available. The organization plans to host at least one concert a month, though more than that is not out of the question.

Sofar Sounds hosts their next concert on Oct. 20 at an undisclosed location. Interested concert goers should RSVP via the organization's Facebook page: Sofar Sounds London, Ontario.