5 reasons for hosting a sofa concert

There’s nothing better than exploring new music and sharing it with friends. As a music lover you are always on the search for the next concert and new music trends and bands. Sure, you can look for live gigs at the bar around your corner or maybe you will discover a super cool newcomer busking on the streets (plenty of bands started their career like that), but it is a lot easier to just bring the music right to your living room. This is why you should think about hosting your own SofaConcert:

It’s easy

SofaConcerts are super easy! All you need is a band, your friends and a little space. You just have to send a mail to your favourite band, set a date, invite your friends, have some cold drinks and you are ready to go! Usually the Band play unplugged and doesn’t need a lot of space or special equipment. Therefor you don’t need to worry about the noise either. Just invite your neighbours as well and get to know each other a little better while listening to great music!

Cozy & Intimate

The best thing about house concerts is the cozy and friendly atmosphere. It’s just you, your best friend and your favourite artist. Together you enjoy the music and have a lovely time. You don’t need to squeeze through a big crowd to get to the first row, you can just take a seat on your VIP spot right on your sofa. You can talk to the band and organize your event just like you want it. Take one or two drinks with the band after the gig and listen to their stories. Who needs a backstage pass, when your own living room is the backstage area?

Explore new music

The best benefit about sofa concerts is to easily explore great new music and get to know the artists personally. To discover new artists and share them with your friends is a really special experience. You never know, maybe in five years you are at a sold out show and you are able to tell your friends: “They played in my living room!”

Turn your favourite place into a stage

No need to say, we are all big concert lovers and can’t stop dancing to our favourite band at a big concert, but a private gig has something absolutely special to it. No big crowd that pushes you and spilt beer all over you and especially no super tall guy right in front of you! Just make your home a stage, no matter if it is your living room, attic or garden and put on socks instead of high heels!

 

It’s all about the music

Music builds connections and creates moments like nothing else and that’s the main point about SofaConcerts. Artists share they stories, thoughts and time with you and your friends, which creates a unbelievable connection. No matter how amazing the atmosphere of a big concert hall is, there is nothing like an artist playing his song just for you! This special and magical feeling of a SofaConcert should everyone experience once!

If you think about hosting your own house concert and invite great artists to your home, you should check out our artist. There will be the right one for each event, taste and budget!

Feeling at home

In a few weeks, we will be dragged into the madness of Christmas, if it hasn't begun already. The lights will shine brighter than before, the smiles from seeing the people we love will stick to our faces, laughing and loud voices will echo in our houses. At least we hope that it will be the case for you too  
There is one thing about this special time of the year, that we can neither hear nor see, but we can feel. There is this feeling, the feeling of being back home, of taking the time for our loved ones, an indescribable warmth which enters our hearts when we experience it… 

“This is where I feel home!”

One of our devoted host's, Sophie, contacted us  for a recommendation to plan her next Sofaconcert; Both her step-sister and brother will be traveling home for Christmas: her step-sister from Cape Town and her brother from HeidelbergHeidelberg. And all of her other friends will be home for the holidays as well. How will she manage to visit all of them and spend a great time together? Well, what is a better occasion than to surprise them with a SofaConcert! 

So, you know us by now… We jumped on the occasion and asked Sophie what is this feeling of “coming home” ...

Sophie & her brother

Whether it is with her brother, surrounded by Christmas lights and the soft crackling noise of the wood from the chimney or in the summer, outside in the garden repairing a used canoe with her dad… When Sophie thinks about home the first thought that comes to her mind is her parents’ home. She comes from a beautiful city where there are always many things happening and one can find any event that suits them...Welcome to Hamburg! Even though for years now, her parents’ home has not been the place where she lived, she gets the warm feeling of knowing that someone is always here for her and welcoming her with opened arms. She always feels welcome  and can just relax and switch off her mind …

“You can be yourself and feel secure when you are there. You know, it’s like this feeling when you know a song by heart and you can sing along loudly – forgetting the time and the world around you.” For Sophie, “Oft gefragt” from Annenmaykanterey describes perfectly the feeling of being home and for a reason, this song hits her right in the feels…

“You are still my home,

You are always my home

You've picked me up and took me there

Woke up in the middle of the night because of me.

I've often thought about it lately

You are still my home,
You are always my home
I have no home, I have only you

You are home forever and for me”

And that is probably right. The feeling we have during Christmas is a special feeling because we take the time to see our loved ones. And that is the feeling of coming home – it is a feeling of being with your friends, with your family and the people that are important to us, where time is not ticking anymore.

All your friends are coming home during this special time, either from the other side of the world or from the next city. Use this time! This happens only once a year. Make something out of it, spend some time together, share laughs, share memories and why not plan a SofaConcert to reunite your friends?
This is what Sophie planned this year, to get the maximum time with her friends and family. Because you don’t get that chance all the time:

“Instead of choosing food as the main program, I really recommend from the heart to opt for a Sofaconcert! No, it won’t be too noisy. No, the artists are not drunk rockers! Yes, it's better than to be in the crowd at a concert! And yes, it is unique and unforgettable!”  

Do you have an interesting story to share with us? Tell us about it and send it to info[a]sofaconcerts.org.

If you have any questions on how SofaConcerts work or if you need some recommendations, contact us at info[a]sofaconcerts.org

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!