Sofar Sounds

Last night 45 people were crammed into a small flat in Nether Edge to watch four acts play acoustically to a silent room. They got numb bums but brought their own booze and didn't even know where the gig was until 24 hours before the show. But that's all part of the charm, being in on the secret. These acts all had their set filmed so they have something special to share with their fans. And this is what happens all around the world (in 87 cities to be exact) so check out the Sofar Youtube for all of these videos and to get a sense of what these gigs are like.

Without sounding like a bit of a dick, I'm a bit miffed that not many of my mates have been to a Sofar Sounds gig in Sheffield yet. You're missing out, massively.  Sign up and you'll get an e-mail once a month giving a list of dates for gigs around the world, click on the one you want to attend and apply. Pretty simple really. I guess I'm a little annoyed at the apparent disinterest as running this thing takes up a shed load of mine and other people's time. And we don't get paid a penny. We do it because we love it and because we think Sheffield needs this, so take advantage of all this work we're doing! Because we're doing it for you!

We kicked off in July in my very own dining room and it was a small, cosy affair. But damn lovely. Each gig has it's own charm and atmosphere, the crowd differ entirely each month and the potential for collaboration and to build friendships is strong. There's a growing sense of community and I feel we very much lack that these days.

Over the past few months we've been lucky enough to have:

Neil McSweeney, The Hosts, Kimberly Anne, Laurel Canyons, James Tait, Canyon Family, Stoney, The Payroll Union, The Natterjacks, Hunting Bears, Kid Conventional, LAZULI, Floodhounds, Turning Plates and Joe Kriss from Word Life UK.

I can't help but feel a sense of achievement! All of this amazing music! You mustn't think, "Oh it'll just be Gina's mates playing" or"It's always gonna be the same ol' Sheffield bands" because it really won't be. Kimberley Anne, for example, is on tour with Ella Eyre at the moment. We were asked to host her as our date worked well with her tour.  The girl is going to blow up for sure, and there she was, singing in a friends' living room. So freaking cool! Essentially, you never know who'll you see play. In Manchester they recently had Hozier! Super jealous.

Do us a favour, sign up here now. Right now. The next show is set to be a good one, but hell, they all will be. Plus, it would be really reassuring if some of my friends could see what we're doing here. I feel selfish saying so, but this would mean quite a lot to me and no doubt the rest of the team too. Ooh and if you still don't really know what it's all about read my interview with Exposed magazine where I explain everything. So you don't end up being like the guy last night who turned up thinking it was a rave.