New Things #9: Sofar Sounds

One of my biggest disappointments with Los Angeles is the lack of live music at bars. I used to have a go-to spot - Piano Bar in Hollywood - but that closed down. COVID took down a lot of the small venues in DTLA. The Redwood Bar & Grill is still kicking, and The Escondite has live music now and then but I feel like it is usually more miss than hit there.

Filling the void in a way is Sofar Sounds - a global company that throws small shows in random locations. The tickets are $34 and you get three artists playing small sets - I think the whole thing ran about two or two and half hours. They don’t announced the location until 36 hours before the show and they don’t announce the artists until an hour or so before so it’s a bit of a mystery box.

The show I went to was in The Shed, an aptly name empty structure behind a law office. As for the artists, there was a 17 year old girl with her acoustic guitar, a kind of indie folkish due but the star of the show was Tim Reynolds, a violinist who would loop different tracks and then build a song. Admittedly, I’m a sucker for people who do this but the whole crowd was very into it. All in all, it was a fun experience (I was able to nab a chair but most people were sitting on cushions on the floor) and I’d definitely grab tickets again in the future.