Previous Sofar Sounds event – Official photo provided by Sofar Sounds
By JARIAH TRAVAN
Have you heard of Sofar Sounds? Well if you like supporting local musicians and have a craving for intimate live gigs then it’s something that needs to be on your radar.
Sofar Sounds is a world-wide phenomenon that originated eight years ago in London- and since then it has spread throughout homes all over the world.
The idea is to connect the artist more intimately to their audience in a respectful way and bridge the gap between performer and punter. This idea is so popular it now resides in 370 cities worldwide. WOW!
Volunteer hosts let strangers alike delve into the world of their personal homes to share and promote this equality.
Dani Miller and Mindy Davies of Sofar Sounds Gold Coast are leading the way and are responsible for bringing this amazing initiative to our shores.
September 20th will see Sofar Sounds partner with the Amnesty International launch ‘Give A Home’ which is being hosted in 60 countries throughout hundreds of homes- and raising money to support the refugee crisis that is impacting over 20 million people world-wide.
Ms Miller and Ms Davies said that they are both passionate about social justice having spent time outside Australia.
“We have definitely seen how fortunate we are to live in a safe conflict free country.”
The partnership seeks to support the ‘I Welcome’ program which askes people to come together and say ‘I Welcome Refugees’ in hope to resettle and reintegrate the neglected.
“We love the idea of artist’s using their voice for those without one to put extra pressure on Australian Governments to do much better regarding the basic human right to have a home,” the duo said.
“We feel that the Gold Coast is a beautiful place but is often sheltered when it comes to global issues but we can’t deny that we are able to help people affected by this crisis.”
On the Gold Coast, artists such as Nick Cunningham, IVEY and Kyle Lionhart will each be doing a 20-minute acoustic set with all money from the night going to Amnesty.
Lachlan McGuffie, from IVEY said that this is something very special to them and they couldn’t be more excited.
The band was approached over a month ago by the girls to play the event and said usually they deliberate over smaller gigs but this was a ‘no-brainer’ for them.
“We don’t think enough attention can be given to this cause. It’s a way for us to give whatever we can, in a very, very small way and hopefully, bring a few more people’s attention to a great cause,” said Mr McGuffie.
Photo by H20 Photography
Although they want to raise as much money as they can, the band would be satisfied for just being able to increase awareness.
“By being aware, we can address the problem, and in turn, the hope would be that our government, who is currently doing no justice, begins to take action.”
Dani Miller and Mindy Davies hope that even though Australia is isolated from the refugee crisis that people realise we have a duty to increase awareness and have the power to do so.
“We have a responsibility to acknowledge that the basic human rights of people fleeing conflict are being ignored on our shores. Our hope is that people will not only donate to our September event but will then be inspired to use their voice, profile, unique talents or whatever they have to share to be a champion for a cause and make a stand for the millions of refugees without a home.”
Tickets are allocated via a prize draw; fans pay a small donation to buy a ticket to get their ‘name in a hat’ and the chance to win a pair of passes to the show.
To find out more head to
https://www.sofarsounds.com/giveahome
https://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/i-welcome/
Previous Sofar Sounds event – Official photo provided by Sofar Sounds