About Sounds Local
Sounds Local connects the digital with the physical, helping community-led organisations communicate with humanity and heart. Through events and experiments grounded in creativity and care, we aim to encourage people away from screens and into local third spaces, where connection, curiosity, and community can thrive.
Leading by intuition
We treat each project as a living experiment. Rather than being attached to specific outcomes, we take an iterative and agile approach, allowing space for play, surprise, and discovery.
For example, our 90s -themed community singing group might seem unnecessarily niche, but we believe joy is a powerful connector… and that means not taking things – or ourselves – too seriously.
Shared activities that feel fun, relaxed, and low-pressure can spark friendships, reduce isolation, and make the world feel just a little warmer (in a good way).
Everyone’s welcome
We intentionally create inclusive, welcoming spaces — especially for people with physical disabilities or neurodivergent traits — while also ensuring no one feels othered or out-of-place.
Everyone is welcome, and everyone is expected to bring kindness and acceptance to the table.
Whether it’s a workshop, a walk, or a weirdly niche singing group, Sounds Local is about making space for the stuff that makes us feel alive — together.
Business model
Our goal is to create initiatives that are self-sustaining (ie: not reliant on ongoing government or charity funding), yet accessible. We operate on a Pay What You Can (If You Can) basis, charging for attendance where it’s possible, but never turning anyone away. We trust people to contribute in ways that match their means.
To support these initiatives, we offer products and services to other community organisations to help them communicate online, along with sponsorship opportunities for small businesses who want to back something fun and local.
Our values
Acceptance
Meet people where they are, and embrace what makes them them.
Connection
Make friends, and bring different people together.
Creativity
Make something new that didn’t exist before we got together.
Curiosity
Make space for people’s needs and life experiences without judgement.
Experimentation
Don’t get too attached to outcomes. Take what works, and build on it.
Flow
Lose yourself in creativity, and forgett where the time went.
Fun
Put joy first, even – especially – when life feels chaotic or difficult.
Growth
Become 1% better than we were yesterday.
Humour
Life’s too short to take it seriously. Farts are always funny. So are mistakes.
Inclusion
Design communal experiences – not silos – with access in mind.
Kindness
Be patient, empathetic, and caring with others and yourself.
Learning
Get stuff wrong, listen, make adjustments, go again.
Open dialogue
Encourage and facilitate conversation where everyone’s heard.
Playfulness
Try new stuff. Make room for whimsy and surprise.
Warmth
Create spaces where people feel free to be their true selves.