Baylen Leonard is a TV presenter, radio broadcaster & DJ as well as a person involved in making documentaries.  Baylen’s new radio show ‘The Front Porch’ is the best of new country, folk, bluegrass, blues, and roots music - everything that The Sound Lounge has been created to support.  This is what Baylen has said about working with us:

"It's great news that there is a new grassroots venue for Country and Americana music in London. It makes perfect sense as there are so many quality UK musicians making Roots music. The fact that it's crowdfunded is even more heartening and proves there is not only a real desire and need for more venues but that the people who love and make this music are also an active and engaged community. I'm looking forward to many exciting nights at The Sound Lounge!”

With chart topping hits including 'Glad to Be Gay' and '2-4-6-8 Motorway’ Tom Robinson has written with artists from Elton John to Peter Gabriel.  Tom is a great musician (bass player), he is an award winning radio DJ and has been a LGBT activist since the 70s when it was an incredibly courageous thing to be.

As if all that were not enough Tom is a passionate ambassador of independent music working as part of the BBC Introducing team and also with his very own 'Fresh On The Net’ programme which allows any artist to upload a track and have it listened to by a panel of music lovers, to promote music in all its forms. This is not a data driven scheme, this is people using their ears and their souls!

This is what Tom said about working with The Sound Lounge:

"Thanks to the rise of social media, there's never been a better time for innovative new music artists to find a worldwide audience. Yet - at the local level - live venues where they can perform are either closing or under pressure all over the country. This is especially true in London, thanks to the insane profits available to property developers. So news of a new grassroots music venue in Sadiq Khan's hometown of Tooting is especially welcome, and it's an honour to be invited by The Sound Lounge to become a patron. Long may they flourish, and may many others follow their forward-thinking example.”

Paul Sexton is a broadcaster and journalist who writes for The Telegraph, The Financial Times, The Sunday Times to name but a few. Paul’s repertoire of amazing music documentaries is something to behold and being such a ferocious music-consumer, his shows on BBC Radio 2 make for some of the most brilliant and worth-while listening. When Paul is not on radio or writing for national spreads, he is supporting & creating opportunities for independent artists and actually getting out to live shows every single week, sometimes 3 or 4 times a week.

This is what Paul has said about joining our team:

"With the live music industry facing so many challenges, and with so much competition for our hard-earned cash, it really is inspiring and exciting to see the emergence of such a brilliant new venue and arts centre as the Sound Lounge in Tooting. Anyone who makes the effort to go and watch any gig gets the instant reward that you only receive by being in the room, and with its devotion to independent music and creative expression, the Sound Lounge wins everyone's hearts on their first visit.  It’s time to make London a real hub for emerging artists again, be they musicians, writers, poets or anyone else with a voice that can make us think. This is one of the places that’s making that happen, and I’m proud to support the Sound Lounge in every possible way. Hope to see you there soon.”