If you are a fan of live music and you haven’t heard of Sofar Sounds you truly doing yourself a disservice! As described by the organization on their official website, Sofar Sounds is a global network of artists, hosts, and guests, all with the goal of bringing the magic back to live music. I attempted after working at an event venue with multiple spaces within its four walls and varying capacity limits of each room I lost my love for attending performances. Over time, the grand stage sets, masterful lighting, and extraordinary graphic effects became shallow. Sofar Sounds strips all that away to allow attendees to focus on the music!
Live music fans across the world have experienced these jewels moments in major cities such as London, England, New York City, New York, Los Angeles, California and everything in-between witnessing unforgettable performances by Hozier, London Bridges, Kiah Victoria and Lianne La Haves to name a few. With such a warm reception in the surrounding areas, the New Jersey concert goers and recording artists looking to experience the Sofar Sounds for themselves would be forced to travel outside of the state until now. Sofar Sounds has expanded adding New Jersey to their official tour list settling in New Brunswick. Known as a college town, New Brunswick, New Jersey has a budding underground music scene which makes Sofar Sounds a match made in heaven. I was fortunate enough to score a gold ticket to a Sofar Sounds New Brunswick show organized by Rutgers University – New Brunswick freshman Amanda Leifer.
If Leifer would not have announced to the full crowd that she was new to event organizing I would have never guessed. Leifer has done an amazing job creating an inspiring atmosphere for not just the performers but for the evening’s attendees as well. The intimate almost family-like environment of the Sofar Sounds New Brunswick show restored my appreciation of live music performances. Unfortunately, because the show did begin a bit later than scheduled I was only able to enjoy two of the evening’s performances but they were phenomenal.
The show was opened by alternative rock trio Violent Island. The band had great charisma as they performed three original tracks including “Infinite Sun”, “Blue Birds” and “Causality of Insanity” later covering a fellow New Jersey native, the late legend Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”. Each member is a strong part of the overall collective from musical technique from the band members to vocal ability of the lead singer. I forsee great commercial success to come for Violent Island. Stay connected with Violent Island on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or visit his official website www.dyoungnj.com.
After a short break, alternative rock singer and songwriter Dylan Young hooked the audience with his demanding stage presence. Young self-described as a rocker, however, with such a unique voice would translate well to other genres including Pop and Country. With a longer set, Young was able to truly showcase his abilities as a songwriter by performing nearly half a dozen originals including “Shame”, “Burn”, “Light” and “Falling”. Dylan Young is a diamond in the rough and I look forward to witnessing his growth as an artist. Stay connected with Dylan Young on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or visit his official website www.dyoungnj.com.
header image provided by Amanda Leifer
To attend a Sofar New Brunswick show, stay connected with the branch via their Facebook profile page, to become a Sofar New Brunswick volunteer contact organizer Amanda Leifer here or for a full list of Sofar shows around the country visit www.sofarsounds.com.
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