“Bringing the magic back to live music. Founded in 2010 and based… all over the place. Sofar is an expanding network of artists and music lovers. Join us in creating a better way to discover live music. If you can get in.” This is Sofar Sounds, and this is the woman who brought it to Cleveland.

Jeanette Sangston is one of four siblings from Auburn Township in northeast middle-of-nowhere Ohio. Population 5,158. When Jeanette grew up in this small town, she was one of few individuals who found solace in any music, let alone alternative music. She always knew it would hold a special place in her life forever. She took a communications class in high school and had the opportunity to work as a DJ for a local radio station. She learned all about different marketing techniques and about grand and glamorous “show biz.” Obviously, that class made quite an impression Jeanette because it has followed her through her entire life.

Coming from such a small town, Jeanette really never thought she could do anything involving music or the arts as a career. She resigned herself to just being an avid (some might say obsessed) vinyl collector. “Life happens and you sort of just forget about it,” she said. “Bills need paid and all, but I realized life without that spark just isn’t worth it.” Before she came to that realization, she did the “normal, rational” thing to do: she got a good job and settled down. Nothing is wrong with any of that, and she has a beautiful family; she just realized that something was missing.

A friend of hers from Austin, Texas, told her about this crazy thing she discovered: a platform that held secret shows that you have to fill out an application to attend, you don’t know the band until you get there, and you don’t even find out which venue will host the band until thirty hours before the show. I mean, come on, what is that? Sounds exciting. She was instantly intrigued, so she looked to see if there was a chapter in Cleveland. There wasn’t.

Photo by Ernie Joy

Now, an average Jeanette would say, “Aw, that’s too bad,” and move on. This is no average Jeanette. Her immediate thought, without any doubt, was “I suppose that means I’ll have to start it up.” So she did just that. She reached out to Sofar Sounds in September 2014 and her first show was in October — less than a month later.

The global headquarters already had a band that would be near Cleveland around that time called Twilight Sad. They are a Scottish post-punk indie rock band and just so happened to be traveling through the states on a mini-tour that fall. Booking an out-of-state band for a first show is definitely rad, but a band from Scotland? That’s fucking amazing. Only two things missing now! A venue . . . and an audience. Jeanette had to beg and beg one of her friends to let her use her house as a venue, and also beg people to check it out (without actually giving any details).

As unlikely as it may seem, it was a total success. With the help of her team — David Sullivan (videographer), Chris Ebbert (sound engineer), Lauren, Michele, Ernie, Jeni, and other rotating volunteers — Sofar Sounds: Cleveland has been a success since their very first show.

Photo by Ernie Joy

So, I’m not going to lie, my immediate reaction when I heard about Sofar about a year ago was “Wow, that’s so cool!” But my second reaction was “Actually, that’s pretty pretentious. If you really cared about the music, wouldn’t you want anyone to be able to come? Wouldn’t you want people to know the bands so they could get more notoriety?” It actually made me mad!

I was dead fucking wrong. Obviously, being a “secret show” adds to the mystique and the atmosphere, but the real reason behind Sofar’s success is much more beautiful: it allows you to be completely present with the music. When you walk into a Sofar show, you have no preconceived notions of what you’re about to experience. The only thing you are certain of is that you will experience art in raw form. In order to be interested in an experience like this, you have to have a completely open mind and no intentions other than to experience something new.

The official Sofar description is: to curate secret shows once a month where no one talks, everyone listens and it’s all about respecting the music. Jeanette’s description is: it’s about removing barriers. When you remove all barriers, something magical happens. Instead of reading about a show on a flier and saying, “Meh, I don’t like that genre,” or “that venue isn’t as good as this one,” it creates an excitement to be surprised by something you’ve never experienced before. To me, I think that’s really beautiful. It’s easy to get trapped in one specific group of people, one specific genre, hanging out at the same bar every night, but that inhibits growth.

Photo by Ernie Joy

The biggest challenge with Sofar so far (ha) has been finding venues that will give up their space for free. It’s hard to ask to use a space when the venue will make no profit and the show won’t be publicized. Doesn’t sound too beneficial, does it? The venues that have decided to take a chance, however, have always invited Sofar back and a few have even asked to host every single Sofar event. On the other hand, the biggest accomplishment for Jeanette has been the constant and continued growth within the community. Attendees often arrive at a venue without knowing most of the people there, but they all leave as a family.

Sofar is a movement that’s not just in America — it’s global. Starting your own chapter in your city is a big deal and a lot to take on, so you’d think Jeanette would just work on that. However, as I mentioned, this is no normal Jeanette. She decided to learn more about the music scene and started working with the Beachland Ballroom & Tavern in Cleveland, OH about nine months ago. She’s been working with Mark Leddy as his assistant and she hopes to learn even more about booking and promotion.

And as if that’s not enough, she’s trying her hand at band management, and is currently managing for Jordan Kirk on the side. She would like to manage more if possible. Nothing in the music business pays well on a local level, so she still has to work her day job. But wait, there’s more! Her day job? She runs a print company out of her house. She’s a goddamn business owner. I would go into the fact that she’s also teaching herself professional photography and learning to play the guitar, but is that even necessary at this point?

In light of all of her accomplishments, she’s still one of the most humble people I’ve ever met. She believes that most people have lost the balance between making a living and making a life. The way she’s always lived her life is without thinking about what could possibly go wrong. When she started the Sofar Sounds: Cleveland chapter, she never thought about how it might fail. The only thing she thought about was the possibility of what it could become. What it has become.