“Our garden is a place for celebration, community and concerts”

Our February Host of the Month is Anne Aarup Søe, also known as Solgaard Musik. She has her spring and summer concert program in place for 2022, which consists of four garden concerts with four different artists.

Anne lives together with her husband Michael and their children Sara, 18, Tobias, 16, and Bastian, 9. They also have one dog and one cat in the household. As a family project, they arrange concerts in their cozy home, Solgaard, in Viborg. 

Last year Anne and Michael discovered Low-Fi and decided to host concerts at their place. They debuted with four concerts and even built their own stage in the garden. After a successful 2021 season with some amazing artists, 94 happy guests and some memorable live music experiences added to the memory book, they couldn’t wait to plan their next concert season. By December last year, they had settled their 2022 season!

Enjoy the music in a garden with 500 vines

“Solgaard has for many years been a place for celebration, community and music. It is my childhood home and we bought it from my parents in 2012. The large garden with 500 vines and lots of cosy nooks is worth a visit in itself.”

Anne continues, “Me and Michael have always been active in different communities and associations. We enjoy exploring new ideas and creating something that can be enjoyed together with other people. In fact, we often talked about the possibility of doing concerts at Solgaard, and when we explored Low-Fi we did not hesitate to try it out.”

Guests can camp in the garden

Anne also tells us the story of the stage: “We have had live music several times for parties in the garden. Each time with a stage which was taken down afterwards. With the Low-Fi concerts, we decided it was time for a permanent construction. So with the help of good friends and family, we now have a super cosy stage.”

Anne and Michael enjoy making an atmospheric room where guests will feel at home: “We are present and very attentive to hosting both guests and artists. We always make accommodation available for the performing artists and as a guest you are welcome to pitch a tent in the garden and enjoy a night in Solgaard’s summer garden. Next to the stage, we have the bar where you can of course buy Solgaard Rose wine.”

Learned a lot from last summer’s concerts

Anne also mentions the challenge of selling tickets: “The most challenging of hosting concerts has been selling tickets. It requires a lot of time and advertising in different contexts and places, but we have learned a lot from last summer’s concerts.”

In 2021, Anne and Michael arranged four concerts: “Søren Manscher opened the concert season and he made the biggest impression in terms of excitement and nervousness at least. But we enjoyed all four concerts – they were all very different and different guests were attending. It was an amazing experience and we are so ready for 2022.”

Persistence is key when selling tickets

Looking ahead, Anne and Michael have four concerts planned for the upcoming spring and summer season in the Solgaard garden: “We look forward to each and every one of them. For this concert season, we have taken advantage of the learnings we got from arranging last year’s concerts. For instance, we have created a Facebook page for Solgaard Musik where we make regular posts and draw attention to the concerts. We include links to the artists’ music and other things we come up with. It is crucial to be persistent in selling tickets.”

Finally, Anne and Michael hope to see many from the Low-Fi community at their concerts at Solgaard this spring and summer. So do we. 

What about a concert and camping at Solgaard this summer? Visit their host profile Solgaard Musik.