Madrid is the biggest city in Spain, and our most active Sofar chapter in the country. In the city known for its lively nightlife scene, we’re hosting a dozen Sofars in the next month. Sofar Madrid Director Almu books all the local and international talent – who better to talk to about new artists to watch?
Diver by day, concert organizer by night? It’s possible in the Sofar network, where many of our city leaders and ambassadors plan Sofars in their spare time while building their careers in teaching, architecture, engineering and more at their 9 to 5.
Read on to hear from global city leaders from La Plata to Honolulu about their day to night shift and why they volunteer their time to Sofar.
Brazil’s capital is known for its grand Oscar Niemeyer architecture and being the seat of the country’s government, but Sofar Brasília helps the local art scene thrive by hosting small shows in the city’s more intimate spaces. City leader Adolfo shares his favorite secret spots and his picks for top Sofar Brasília alumni in a special Spotify playlist!
Hip-hop got its start in New York City in the 1970s, but since then has spread around the world. We’ve featured hundreds of artists in the genre, in cities as far and wide as Chicago, Paris and São Paulo. Here are some of the standout artists on the rise!
We’re clearly fans of Lauren Ruth Ward – she’s a 17 time Sofar alum! She started off as a hairdresser in Baltimore, but moved west to Los Angeles a few years ago. She’s since played Sofar LA, San Francisco, San Diego, and even her hometown Baltimore! Lauren just released her first album, and we chat with her about dating another musician, the benefits of LA’s warm weather on creativity, and what it took to follow her dream music career.
Thousands of performers joined us around the world in April, showcasing genres from folk and pop to rap and beatbox. Couldn’t join us, or curious what we were listening to on another continent? We asked our city leaders for their standout faves to help you discover the new music we’re loving across the Sofar community.
Community is at the heart of Sofar, and we take pride in bringing together people around the world who have a shared love of music, discovery and new experiences. It’s resulted in countless friendships, not to mention a good amount of Sofar couples! We’ve had not one, not two, but five Sofar couples tie the knot over the years.
From the big screen to the small living room! These Sofar alumni are multi-talented musicians and performers.
Danilo Borgerth has been putting on Sofars in Gothenburg since last autumn, but he has a much longer history with Sofar than that, starting as an artist and then a Sofar London ambassador. He represents the global Sofar community: he was born in Brazil, lived in Portugal and London, and now has settled in Sweden! We chat to Danilo about his favorite Sofar show, his day job and how Sofar fits into Gothenburg’s cultural scene.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is a historic American city known as “The City of Brotherly Love,” and our local Sofar team takes this to heart! They’re bringing art and music to all corners of the city, so we've got Sofar Philly leader Carolyn sharing some of her favorite secret spots with us. Bonus: take a listen to some of her favorite Sofar Philly alumni below!
Our planet’s a pretty cool place. Every year on Earth Day (April 22), we get the chance to celebrate this little blue dot we call home. With Sofars on six continents, we’ve had the chance to experience live music and intimate shows in a variety of environments. Let’s celebrate some of our coolest outdoor shows!
Indian singer-songwriter Saby has played Sofar Bangalore and Delhi-NCR, but wrote most of his songs in lesser-known Jammu to the north, and is now based in Chandigarh. He’s made a strong impression on our Sofar community in his three intimate performances. Here he shares more about what it’s like to be an indie artist in India, to write in both Hindi and English, and to connect with an audience up close and personal at a Sofar.
These artists are kicking off festival season in the desert this weekend! Before they hit the big stages under the sun, they played Sofar sets around the world.
Rain Studios is run by couple Zoe Rain and Allison Herbert, one dynamic duo! Zoe is an incredible concert photographer who runs a photo studio in her home in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. Her work includes traveling the world, photographing acts like Ed Sheeran, Zac Efron, Halsey and Chicago’s own Chance The Rapper. Allison is a New Orleans native who’s been calling Chicago home for the past six years. She’s a licensed professional counselor and creative producer at the studios, not to mention a singer/songwriter! How cool is that?! Despite their busy, globe-trekking schedules, Zoe and Allison always make time to welcome Sofar Chicago into their studio/home for intimate shows.
Every month we feature thousands of performers across 350+ cities around the world! All of our artists bring something new to Sofar, but who stood out the most to our City Leaders? Press play on the Sofar “Now Playing” playlist, and make sure you hit “Follow” to hear the latest picks each month.
These days, it can feel like everything is about data — how many Spotify streams, Instagram followers and views on Youtube determining the validity of an artist. But what about the in-person connection that draws everyone to live music? Can you build a career as an artist IRL, and not just through a screen?
Whoever said “don’t rock the boat” hasn’t been to a Sofar on a ship! We’ve brought our intimate concerts to floating venues around the world. Take a look at some of our faves:
If all you know about Nottingham is Robin Hood, you’re missing out on a thriving, young university town. We’re following along as Sofar Nottingham’s city leaders Hannah and Thando show us their favorite secret spots around the city! Scroll down to take a listen to their favorite Sofar Nottingham alumni too.
More than 25,000 artists have played with us around the world in our 10 year history! They may be big names now, but these artists started off playing small spaces with Sofar:
Here at Sofar, we’re used to transforming everyday spaces — from living rooms, lofts and rooftops, to retail stores — into unexpected, captivating venues for live shows.
An office doesn’t need to be a boring, fluorescent light-filled space that you only go to from 9 to 5. Sofar NYC throws intimate concerts in their office in Chinatown every week. NYC Director Sophie is here with her tips to share how you can do the same in your space!