Anniversary gig for Sofar Inverness

ON Saturday the most northerly Sofar music event in the UK will celebrate its first birthday at a secret location with the clue that it’s a “rarely-used location”.

For a year, musicians Chloe Rodgers and Nicky Murray have been organising monthly gigs showcasing three music performers. Their identity remains secret until the audience arrives on the night. Those signing up and paying the £10 ticket price are emailed the location of the gig in Inverness 36 hours beforehand.

Chloe said: “When Sofar (Songs From A Room) started it was an idea to change the way people listened to music. People were sick of going to gigs and not being able to hear the musicians and wanted to change the way people experienced music.

“Now it is in 250 cities worldwide. It’s nice that we can have one in Inverness which is one of the smallest cities Sofar is in.”

Chloe said: “The aim is to find a venue that is different. It can be in someone’s living-room, we’ve had them in cafes, wherever there is a space someone is happy to give us for the night.”

The Touring Network has partnered for this event as Chloe is a member of GET IN, the youth promoter project run by the Touring Network.

Musicians previously playing the Inverness Sofars have included North-based musicians such as Moteh Parrott, Rachel Sermanni, band Lional and Martin Stephenson.

Chloe said: “We’ve also had from Glasgow, Marina Rolink, she played in December. And, from Edinburgh, Lydia Bennett. She played in January and everybody loved her voice.

“We try and mix it up so that it is not always singer songwriters and to have Scottish and traditional music – such as Lauren McColl and Ewan MacPherson – because that makes us a little bit different from other Sofars around the world.”

The first anniversary Sofar is at a secret location on Saturday, April 6. Doors 7pm, show starts 7.30pm. Tickets cost £10, students get 25% off with a Unidays code. For more information and tickets visit: www.sofarsounds.com/inverness