The music we hear, the art we see, or even what makes us laugh is increasingly decided by someone else's code. Sofar Sounds was built on a different premise: humans remain the best curators for other humans.
Since 2009, Sofar has proven this belief by placing the world’s best emerging grassroots talent in front of attentive audiences in living rooms, rooftops, and hidden venues across more than 300 cities worldwide. We have hosted countless artists early in their careers, including Olivia Dean, Hozier, Tom Odell, James Bay, Emeli Sandé, Wolf Alice, Bastille, Lianne La Havas, George Ezra, Jorja Smith, Kae Tempest, Lola Young, Holly Humberstone, Meek and Myles Smith. The list goes on.
Escape the algorithm.
From this ethos, the Human Discovery Movement was born.
From 24th September 2026 until 17th of October, a mysterious phone number will begin appearing in towns and cities around the world where Sofar is active (300+ cities across 64 countries).
Text it and you’ll receive a song recommendation, accompanied by a voice note from a real person, explaining why they think you should hear it.
Sofar is building a global bank of recommendations from the artists playing Sofar Fringe and artists from across Sofar’s worldwide community alongside journalists, tastemakers and people from across the music industry.
International Day of Discovery.
The Human Discovery Movement was born here in London, where Sofar Fringe scales the magic of a single show into a full day of talent discovery.
This year, on Saturday 17th October, that spirit goes global. Culminating in the inaugural International Day of Discovery, with Sofar communities everywhere marking the day in their own way.
So, if you can't make it to London on the 17th October, you can see where else we are celebrating, and where else you can discover something new here.