Living rooms in cities across the world are playing host to free acoustic sets by rising stars. There are only two rules: stay until the end, and listen up
In an old warehouse building in Limehouse, east London, a quiet revolution is underway. Around 50 music fans have turned up in a stranger's flat at only a few hours' notice and are sitting cross-legged in silence as secret acts deliver stripped-down acoustic sets. Welcome to Songs from a Room.
For the last two years, Songs from a Room (or Sofar) has sought to bring the best new performers to a residence near you. The aim of the format is to "cut through the clutter" of modern gigs, says Rafe Offer, the enthusiastic Chicago-born co-founder and cheerleader of the movement. "Barriers are down when people come to a gig like this. I want it to be small and big all at once. People have called it magic."
Sofar gigs are free ? although donations are encouraged on the night and the organisers are hoping to crowdfund the project via Kickstarter.com ? with invites being sent out via a mailing list. But there are rules to be obeyed. Everyone must stay silent during the songs and promise to stay for the duration of the evening to see all the acts. It's not hard to convince those in attendance to adhere to these requests, as the acoustic performances and intimate settings lend themselves naturally to these conditions (you can watch previous Sofar gigs on their YouTube or Vimeo channels, listen to live tracks on Soundcloud and, if you like, check out the time Twilight's Robert Pattinson came along to play his guitar).
The performers at the latest London show were full of praise for the format. Guitar-toting troubadour Will Knox, fresh off the plane from New York, marvelled that "it's just so rare that people listen", while members of Born Blonde, Songs from a Room veterans and the final act to perform, enjoyed how "the gig becomes a spectacle when it is in a different venue". The smiles on the faces of fellow performers Matthew and the Atlas, Sound of Rum and Bo Bruce suggested that they agreed.
So far Sofar has slowly built up a small cult following, but now the gigs' popularity and waiting lists are growing fast. Shows have already been put on in 10 cities around the world, and the organisers are keen to expand to many more locations, while staying true to the original Sofar idea. So the best way to guarantee yourself a ticket might be to invite Sofar into your own living room ...
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