SOLO

SOLO - A new concert format aimed towards vulnerable youth

Professional songwriters and musicians will travel across the country to play small intimate concerts. With SOLO’s unique format, we wish to help more young adolescents come into contact with the powerful experiences of live music. The SOLO concerts have been created in collaboration with cultural institutions and organisations that work directly with the well-being of young adolescents. SOLO has received a substantial amount of financial support from Region Midt, TrygFonden and Spar Nord Fonden, as well as an overwhelming amount of interest from musicians who have responded to our Open Calls. 

Additionally, the Department of Anthropology at Aarhus University is doing accompanying research to gather new knowledge on the positive effects that intimate concerts can have on vulnerable adolescents and how the concert format can facilitate conversation and a sense of community between the audience. 

Follow-up research

Additionally, the project is being followed up by the Department of Anthropology at Aarhus University, where new knowledge will be researched and compared with the research results from Musical Visiting Friends (Musikalske Besøgsvenner).

"In Musical Visiting Friends, we found that the alternative concert format increased the physical and social accessibility for many elderly people at risk of experiencing loneliness. Similarly, the research in SOLO investigates accessibility and well-being effects of intimate concerts for mentally vulnerable young people. This will result in a comparative study of the two concert formats with a careful focus on the different target groups and social contexts in which the concerts take place," says scientific assistant Amalie Bakkær Munk Andersen from the Department of Anthropology at Aarhus University.

The questions researchers ask revolve around the type of access – to the music, the artist, and between the participants – that an alternative format like SOLO enables, the capacity they potentially experience in encountering the music, and whether the concert experience can contribute to community and dialogue among the young participants. Additionally, the research will focus on the professional skills that the musician draws on in the encounter with the young people.

In summary, Conny Jørgensen, the leader of ROSA, says: - It can be truly unique to share a concert experience with others – whether you know them or not. The feeling embeds itself in the body, and for a moment, you are part of a larger community. With SOLO's special format, we aim to contribute to even more young people experiencing live music and the strong experiences it can provide.

If you click on the Spotify player, you can listen to what is currently playing on SOLO, among other things. The playlist includes songs from the selected artists who will be touring in 2024.