Hidden locations, sold-out shows: It’s live music, but even the band is secret

It’s Sunday night on a dark street corner in Reservoir. A gaggle of strangers nod at each other, bonded by a shared secret. The address emailed to us yesterday turns out to be a cosy recording studio behind a shopfront facade. Jess Maio ticks our names off a list and ushers us discreetly inside in twos and threes.

“Grab a cushion, make yourself comfortable,” says our host, who introduces herself as a booker for Sofar Sounds Melbourne. In front of us is a simple array of microphones and amps. Guest keep piling in, sitting on the floor, pouring BYO drinks. It’s a sold-out show, we’re told: 50 punters paid $35 to be here, with no clue who’s playing.

At 8pm the first of three surprises is revealed. Lara Buchanan is a poised 18-year-old singer-guitarist from Canberra who’s been writing since she was 11. She’s intense and magnetic. Four or five songs about betrayal and bad news and a couple of funny stories later she’s gone. We spill outside for air.

Lara Buchanan on stage.Credit: Luis Ascui

“A music booker will usually just reach out to the artists but with Sofar, a big part of the job is finding unusual spaces for them to perform,” says Maio, who’s been staging nights like this since February. “We’ve played in vintage stores, yoga studios, chapels… we get a lot of people wanting to host as well, so backyard shows and loungerooms... ”

In this age of Likes and Follows and discovery algorithms, artist selection is an even more novel process. “Because people are buying a ticket without knowing who’s playing, we have a lot of freedom to book pretty much anyone we like,” Maio says. Genre and popularity are equally by the bye, though there’s a tendency towards troubadours rather than laptop tappers.

“What I personally look for is someone who I know is going to be professional on the night and knows how to work an audience,” Maio says. “They don’t necessarily have to have a large following; they need to sound good. I just listen to their music and watch videos of them performing and use my own judgment.”

Laughing Waters, a duo from Eltham, at the intimate Reservoir venue.Credit: Luis Ascui

It’s not like these skills don’t exist at the commercial end of the live music biz but sadly, in venues where rocketing overheads are weighed against plummeting alcohol sales, an artist’s social media, Spotify and other fan stats have come to count for more than any booker’s gut feeling about what’s good. “For us,” says Maio, “it’s more about, ‘Can our audience discover a great new local artist by attending this show?’”

The second act, Laughing Waters, is a duo from Eltham with just a few gigs in the bank but clearly more combined experience. Singer Stephanie McMillan is beaming after their short set of soul-infused songs layered up with a loop pedal by guitarist Rhys Walshe. “The intimacy is the best part,” she says. “People come to listen” — not always a given, as any jaded road singer knows.

Sofar Australia director Matt Walters has been there. He was signed as an artist to Universal Music 15 years ago‚ but soon discovered the major label hype-and-grind model was no road to happiness. “It’s not about chasing some ridiculous dream,” he told me a few years later, as he pivoted to an indie career. “It’s about being a part of a community I connect with and feeling grateful for every moment.”

Stephanie McMillan, from duo Laughing Waters, says, “The intimacy is the best part” of the secret Sofar gigs.Credit: Luis Ascui

Walters was the brains behind Parlour Gigs, the app-based home concert phenomenon that started in Melbourne in 2015 and grew across Australia. Parlour caught terminal COVID in the midst of global expansion, but not before Walters connected with Sofar. Based in London, the platform is now active in 400 cities. “The essence of Sofar hasn’t changed — intimate performances in unique locations — but the community has scaled significantly,” he says. “Since I joined in 2022 we’ve hosted over 350 shows in the region and sold over 15,000 tickets. That’s 1050 performances from emerging Australian artists.”

The goal is “authentic moments of discovery and connection,” he says. “Fans walk away having discovered not just new artists but a real emotional bond with the music. The vibe is always open and friendly. You can easily strike up conversations with strangers.”

Of the half dozen I talk to, only one punter has been to Sofar gigs before — most of them in the US and Europe. The website boasts video evidence of big-league artists like Billie Eilish, Leon Bridges, Hozier and Khruangbin. In Australia, Courtney Barnett, Julia Jacklin, Matt Corby, Budjerah and Stella Donnelly have all played Sofar shows.

Some of the bigger names are announced and scaled more like regular gigs: “Headliner shows, we call them,” Walters says. Subscribers know, for example, that cult British folkie Fink is playing his first six-city tour of Australia in November — although each “unique” venue will remain secret until the last minute.

Meanwhile, the night’s final act is “a bit of a legend,” our MC teases as Seb Szabo leads his Springsteen-inspired rock quartet into a space that barely contains them. The tousled frontman begins by introducing a “new song”, then stops himself. “They’re all new to you ’cause you don’t know who the f--k I am,” he jokes. As per the booker’s criteria, he knows how to work an audience.

He knows how to find one, too. “My whole goal with music has always been to go to new places and play to audiences in different cities,” he tells me later. “I’ve played a few of these in the States and a few in the UK ... You don’t have to worry about hustling to sell tickets because there’s a dedicated audience of people who know about Sofar.”

Ah, the dedicated audience. They’re in decline too, we’re told, as allegiances fade and get forgotten as fast as your last TikTok. What’s maybe most remarkable about the night is how few of the cross-legged music lovers have their phones in the air, making content for later. The weight of the moment seems much greater than that.

In that regard, 18-year-old Lara Buchanan’s first Sofar gig has been a revelation. “It was so different to what I expected,” she says. “Usually when I do performances I’m either opening for someone or I’m at some really loud bar, and … it’s almost as if the music is just background. Everybody was really, really watching and listening. That was something I’d never really experienced before.”

Artists, hosts and punters can connect at sofarsounds.com.

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