About

The Sound Lounge Story

Music can change lives

The story of The Sound Lounge, as told by co-founder, Hannah White.

In 2012, 22 year old Keiron had decided to close the boutique recording studio he had set up in SW London’s Merton Abbey Mills, just two years prior. The beautiful little studio was not bringing in enough money to pay the bills when I came knocking on the door looking to record some songs.

Keiron and I had played music together in the past and he’d put me on the bill for some of his nights when he was promoting. We had plenty in common having both had parents who had been in prison and from backgrounds where we were exposed to drugs, crime & violence. We both turned to music and shared an idealistic vision of how music can literally change bad into pure goodness.

Keiron’s studio may not have been a commercial success, but I could see how many people loved the place. Every day musicians and music-lovers would stop by to chat, share & be part of something. I felt somehow that music-itself could work its magic and save the community it had created.

We put our heads together & came up with a plan. We went to IKEA and bought a slender shoe-storage unit for £45 to use as a bar counter. We found a broken old coffee machine on e-bay which Keiron’s dad (a London-bus mechanic) set about fixing up and making new. We made a stage from pallets and hung a black curtain as a backdrop. We messaged a few artist friends to see if anyone would be interested in performing.

Almost overnight the tiny space became known for some of the best music nights in south London. We hosted singer-songwriter showcases, trad sessions & band album launches. The music did indeed perform its magic. People of all ages & all backgrounds came and friendships were formed. At a time when grassroots venues were closing at a faster rate than they were opening, the Sound Lounge had become a new destination. We hosted artists who were playing on huge stages elsewhere in Europe. We ran monthly festivals attracting a line-up from far & wide. We did it all on a shoe-string budget. The atmosphere was electric and the reviews were glowing.

For several years it was amazing, and it sounds silly but the space was so small the busy nights meant people couldn't get to the bar. We couldn't make enough to keep the doors open and we closed the venue in 2015.

It was little more than a year later when we walked past a derelict site in our home town of Tooting with a ‘TO LET’ sign. With no capital or savings and no corporate backing whatsoever we instinctively knew we could do something with it.

We turned to social media to test the water. The response was overwhelming. Electricians, plumbers, builders & decorators came forward and offered their services. People donated time and money. In just 6 weeks we put down a deposit and turned the derelict site into a brilliant 200-capacity music venue.

Once again the live music drew all kinds of people to us. Artists from USA, Europe, Canada & Australia came to Tooting and the area suddenly featured in Lonely Planet’s Top 10 Destinations on the planet!  We worked with local charities and became accredited to run AQA sound engineering & barista training for local people suffering from disadvantage. We set-up free music classes for pre-schoolers, food workshops for people living below the poverty line; fixed up old instruments and donated them to young people without access & launched Friendship Coffees (free hot drinks & hangout for local people suffering from social isolation). Then, in 2017 we became 100% plant-based. It was risky but it felt important. It was working!

However, after just one incredible year the venue was closed by a developer. It was devastating. We campaigned & the local community got behind us, but we (and 40 other small businesses) were shut down in a matter of days. We moved the furniture and our small team of staff to a small pop-up space in Wimbledon (with thanks to Merton council) and subsequently to Morden. The Sound Lounge had developed a loyal following & events were always successful regardless of where they happened. 

The pop-ups were amazing but we knew they were only temporary. It was exhausting. When we moved to Sutton in Dec 2017, we decided to test the water once more. I did a google search and found an email address: opportunity@sutton.gov The response was something like “you have no idea how timely your message is”. 

The Sound Lounge in Sutton, eventually opened during the pandemic in December 2020. Young people not in education, employment or training were part of the building project, with mentors brought in (via organisation VIY) to train and offer City&Guilds qualifications to the young people who built our venue! It was beautiful. Together we turned what was once a bank, into a welcoming, vibrant music venue using sustainably sourced & pre-loved materials.

We are proud of what we have achieved in the 3 1/2 years since we have been in Sutton, including becoming the very first music venue in the UK to achieve carbon neutral certification, hosting 721 gigs for 789 artists & bands, putting on 98 charity events, giving away 580 hot drinks to people suffering from isolation, making 366 healthy, hot meals for local people living with food insecurity and setting up an annual live music day-long festival (Folk in the Park) in the heart of our borough. We also helped set up Sutton’s Green Enterprise Partnership, a high-profile, pioneering programme offering small businesses tax incentives in exchange for action to reduce their carbon-footprint.

We hope you get an opportunity to experience the magic of a live music experience in our venue, but if you are not local, please do find a venue close to you, because there is nothing in this world like it.