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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Gainesville residents are buying tickets to a concert without knowing who will be performing or where the show will take place.

In fact, people all over the world are doing the same thing. Sofar Sounds, a music events company hosts intimate shows in unconventional spaces.

The venue could be anywhere from someone’s living room to an antique shop, but it’s kept secret. Attendees don’t find out the location until 24 hours before the show, and they don’t know the lineup until they arrive, said Brandon Telg, Sofar Sounds Gainesville leader.

“Once we had a show in a karate dojo, complete with fighting demos in between sets,” said Charlie Daffron, Sofar Sounds Gainesville podcast manager.

Sofar Sounds Gainesville is hosting their next show on Sept. 30. Tickets are on sale for $15 at www.sofarsounds.com/gainesville, said Tanna Townsend, UF civil engineering senior and Sofar Sounds Gainesville artist liaison.

Guests will be coming for the music, an open-minded experience and the thrill of surprise, Townsend said.

“Every Sofar show that I’ve been to, I felt like I was in this crazy magical space,” Townsend said.

Sofar Sounds was founded to bring the magic back to live music. The company aims to connect the artist to the audience without an overly loud crowd, poor sound system or an excessive selfie-taker getting in the way, according to the Sofar Sounds website.

The company has flourished into a global community; it is live in 441 cities worldwide.

The ultimate goal of the Sofar Sounds Gainesville team is to foster growth in the local music scene. They are committed to putting on diverse shows so people can see artists they would not usually see perform, whether they are local or on the road, Telg said.

“If we’re not growing the music scene around us, then what we’re doing isn't working,” Telg said.

Sofar Sounds Gainesville only hosts shows on Mondays, in an effort to not take away from any other events in the community, Telg said.

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At all Gainesville shows, the audience is asked to put away phones during the performance, refrain from taking pictures or videos and to stay for the entire duration of the event, out of respect for the artists, Telg said.

The team wants to provide publicity for the undiscovered artists it books as well as the venues that host the shows. Their hope is that audience members will like the atmosphere and give business to that dojo, brewery or bar in the future, Telg said.

“If an artist gets another opportunity as a result of performing at one of our shows, that’s a win for us,” Telg said.

Each Sofar Sounds show features three artists, playing four songs each on average.

Audience members know they’re going to see three different sets every time, and that even if the genre isn't for them, that the artists are well-vetted, said Alise Cross, marketing coordinator.

Townsend said that she loves having the opportunity to create a space where the community can come and forget about the chaos in their lives outside of the doors. For a couple of hours, people can silence the countless notifications from their phones and feel truly engaged.

Townsend is looking forward to seeing people experience Sofar Sounds for the first time at the upcoming show.

“I love getting to help other people have that experience,” she said.

Even though the staff members know the artists before hand, Cross tries not to listen to their music ahead of time. She loves to be surprised along with everyone else, she said.

Numerous people who have attended Sofar Sounds shows in other cities credit Gainesville as the most memorable location, Telg said.

“I have always been extremely passionate about music, but I'm not talented enough to be an artist myself, so this is a great way for me to be part of that community,” Cross said. “Every single show I am blown away by the talent and so grateful to be a part of something so special.”

Townsend is equally passionate.

“Everything else I do in my life is for my resume or to make money,” Townsend said. “This is the one thing I do because I love it and it makes me really happy.”

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