In Salt Lake City, we love live music. We have arenas and professional venues such as The State Room or Soundwell for national touring artists, and we even have multiple bars/restaurants where you can have groovy background music for your night out.   What we are missing is any in between for the independent songwriters of the world making music we love that hasn't broken into mainstream radio or the Spotify top charts...yet. Salt Lake City needs a place for THOSE artists, and that's where the Near Hear Showcase comes in. ​ The Near Hear Showcase seeks to cultivate a "listening room environment" for these artists to share their music with us in Salt Lake City. Simply put, the Near Hear audience is there for THE MUSIC - not to mingle or make friends, not for the drinks or the food, but to listen intently to the lyrics and melodies the performer is sharing with us.   That's not to say you won't make friends or have great food/drinks, but a listening environment implies giving your full attention to the artist when they are on stage and saving your chatting for before/after the concert.