“ At first I wasn't sure if this was some kind of German birthday tradition …”

More and more international artists are joining us and use SofaConcerts for their tour across Europe, and so did Duncan Woods from Australia. As soon as Duncan registered on SofaConcerts he was enthusiastic to share his cheerful music with hosts around the world. His music reminded us of Jack Johnson and after a short period of time he confirmed his first gig. Duncan travels through Europe with his guitar and backpack for a couple of months every year to inspire people with his music. We met him at one gig in Hamburg and he told us about his different experiences with SofaConcerts. This story moved us in particular; so we don’t want to withhold it from you:

Duncan was invited to the home of a young couple in a small town of Germany where he had never been before. It was a warm summer evening. That same day Duncan played a gig in Nuremberg and was late to catch his train. However, he managed to get there with some delay and when he finally made it to Würzburg, nothing could go wrong anymore! The host’s father picked him up at the train station and brought him to the couple’s garden, where the concert was to take place.

Just a normal SofaConcert: a living room, some friends and an evening full of music. At least, this is what Duncan thought until then… But everything turned out differently ;)

When they entered the yard, there were beautiful lights hung up everywhere, small tents and benches. It was like in a movie; everything looked so beautiful and the people were lovely. Nevertheless Duncan had a strange feeling: he felt that something was going on, but thought that it was just a mixed feeling due to his delay. Everything was well prepared and it seemed like everyone was waiting for him to get things started. When Michael seemed a bit nervous Duncan thought it was just because of Maria’s special day – her birthday. He had no clue how special it would become…

Just as he was about to start playing he saw Michael getting down on one knee in front of Maria. This was the most awe-inspiring moment anyone could have had. The guests were gasping and looking at each other, all of them were surprised. After the first round of excitement was gone, everything went quiet; all eyes were on Michael and Maria, waiting for him. As an Australian, Duncan wasn't sure if this was some kind of German birthday tradition. The thing is Michael had kept his plan very secret from everyone including the musician.

“Maria, will you marry me?”

He had just popped the question. Michael was on one knee and looked at her expectantly. She couldn’t keep her emotions to herself and started crying as soon as the first words from Michael’s mouth were becoming real. She managed to spill the word with a trembling and tearful voice “Yes, I do!”. People began to cheer and congratulate the couple with so much joy! Afterwards, a bubble of happiness was covering the evening.

Then it was up to Ducan, to to recover from the surprise and kick the party off with his music and jumped straight into a set mashing up all the love songs he could think of into one medley. For him, being caught up in this moment with everyone and being able to add his music to the atmosphere was priceless. The proposal added a new ripple of excitement to the party. People were full of joy and buzzing to have been a part of this unforgettable occasion!

" I had such a great night with the newly engaged couple and their friends, you could really see in their eyes just how happy they both were with each other. It could not have gone any better.” Duncan

What a wonderful evening. At a SofaConcert anything could happen! What were your favorite moments? Tell us about them and send your stories to info@sofaconcerts.org.

If you would like to surprise someone, you can book the perfect band directly on SofaConcerts.

An extraordinary sofa concert with BOSSE!

Imagine you invite an unknown country artist to your living room…

…and then a pop star walks through the door – undercover!

This is exactly what happened to Conny and her guests.

It’s Friday night. In a cozy living room in the heart of Germany, twenty people have gathered to enjoy some great music with their friends and family. Conny, the host, has wanted to bring a sofa concert to her apartment for quite some time. The grey weather and the urge to see her friends have given her enough reason to invite one of our newcomers, Jimmy Folks, to her home. But let us take you back two weeks …

The atmosphere is thrilling. Everyone in the office is smiling and excited. Find something you love and then do it every day. Well, we found something we love - we love to surprise lovely people with great music and now it is time to do it again. The idea was finalized and we were ready for our next stunt. Our plan is to invite a well-known German pop star, dress him up as a country singer, and let him play a sofa concert “undercover” for a clueless host. Said and done. We all are extremely excited and just like that Axel Bosse walks through the door of our office. Cheerful and relaxed he introduces himself. “Let’s do this!” he says and then everything changed. Our office tables were exchanged for a dressing table, the grey sweater was now a checkered shirt and the cap, a country hat. 

In no time, Pia our make-up artist, turned BOSSE into Jimmy Folks. With the help of a fake beard, fake hair and a little bit of make-up, he now looked 10 years older. A new country star was born. The only thing missing was a profile on our SofaConcerts platform. A profile picture was quickly taken, some feedback was written by us, and our new artist of the week was chosen. Now patience was the key…We waited for two weeks when a call came in. “I just got booked!” shouted Aki alias BOSSE through the phone. Perfect!

19:45 pm – now back to Conny. The excitement in the room builds and soon the concert will start. But where is Jimmy? Ah finally! The doorbell rings and Conny opens the door. There he is. A friendly kiss on each cheek and off he goes in to the living room and quickly sets up the instruments. A short introduction is given of Jimmy, his pianist, and his guitarist and then he launches straight away into a classic: “Leaving on a Jet Plane”. His voice is beautiful and the harmonic sounds calm the guests. Almost everyone has their eyes closed and their feet start to tap to the rhythm of the music. 

“The next song is from Hamburg.” says Jimmy and the first chords begin. Some of the guests seem to recognize the song as it begins. The chorus starts and from the other side of the room you can hear whispers. “That’s not possible”. “The voice sounds so familiar” says another. Who would have thought a country musician could sound so much like BOSSE, the original singer of the song? Everyone is totally impressed. The voice is so similar and the moves too, but then again, he doesn’t look anything like BOSSE. Or does he?

Slowly Jimmy starts to undo his beard. Everyone is looking at each other. Could this be possible? No way. Next, the hair and the hat have to go. Is this real? Gasps, claps, shouts. WOW! This is not Jimmy. This is indeed BOSSE. Who would have thought the night would turn out like this? A well-known German artist in Conny’s living room – Conny and the guests sure didn’t expect anything like this. BOSSE is really here. They still can’t believe what is happening. He plays a few more of his own songs and after that he stays to talk to everyone and take pictures. No one in this living room will ever forget this night. It is a good thing we also have it on camera, so that you can see for yourself….

Aki you were the best, thank you so much for this great experience. It was a pleasure watching you become Jimmy Folks ;) We want to say a big THANK YOU to all the people who were involved in the making of this wonderful project. Only with the help of our accomplices was this was possible! You guys were amazing! J

To share our happiness and gratitude with you, we have something special for you! Until the 30th of November we are going to set Jimmy’s profile free once again and if you invite him to a sofa concert in the next two weeks you will have the chance to win a hand signed CD from BOSSE! J Good luck!