Ah, the weekend… Time to sit back, blare that favorite record, and pour yourself a glass of wine. Right? But wait, there are so many other things to worry about… You should really wash those dishes piled up in the sink; and hey, maybe now’s a good time to catch up on those lingering emails; and watch that volume knob—the neighbors are going to get mad again. Well, what if we told you that you could stay somewhere for the night, where not only would you not have to worry about any of that, but you’d also have an entire record store, a stocked fridge, and some of the best consumer speakers on the market at your fingertips, for the ultimate High Fidelity night in?
Sonos is partnering with Rough Trade to offer two lucky winners a night’s stay at the legendary London record store’s Brooklyn outpost in Williamsburg later this fall. The offer is being listed on Airbnb and winners will have the run of the store for a Friday or Saturday night this October and November, including VIP tickets to whatever show is happening at the attached venue, private access to Sonos’s new listening room set up above the shopping floor, and a curated selection of records. In case you need a nap on your all night musical adventure, there will be a bed in the listening room. (For obvious privacy reasons, it will not, as depicted in the above image, be set up overlooking the store floor.) If you need a pick-me-up, a fridge will be stocked with snacks from local eateries, and you’ll have input into those treats too. After a night surrounded by music, guests will wake up to a private shopping experience in the store, before the doors open to the public.
The Sonos listening room at Rough Trade.
The listening room takes interior design and sound-proofing cues from Sonos’s flagship store that opened last month in SoHo, which features seven listening rooms, all designed in different styles. Mark Stamaty’s cartoon illustrations of chaotic New York life, which also adorn the SoHo store, decorate the entryway to the room at Rough Trade, opposite framed zine covers depicting New York’s glory days of Rakim and Lou Reed. The records on display—and for sampling on the Sonos system of two Play:5 and two Play:1 speakers strategically placed around the room—will change based on what Rough Trade’s staff is digging—as well as the lucky winners’ own preferences: When we visited the space on the eve of its opening, a mix of buzzy new albums like Angel Olsen’s My Woman sat next to Radiohead’s In Rainbows and Coltrane’s A Love Supreme. Extra touches, like a coffee table book selection that includes Michael Azerrad’s seminal work on the 1980s punk underground Our Band Could Be Your Life, and Peter Hook’s Unknown Pleasures, an insider’s look at Joy Division, round out the full-immersion music-lover experience. It’s like Rough Trade and Sonos are saying: “It’s great that you hit ‘shuffle’ and create a soundtrack for your daily commute, but hey, maybe it’s time to sit for a while and listen—like, really listen—to some music.”
Those interested in living out their “Rex Manning Day” party at Empire Records dream with their friends—or just having a low-key, but not-so-quiet, night in with their favorite person and a stack of their favorite records—have to apply through Airbnb, by answering the question, “What would be your dream overnight experience at the Sonos Listening Room in Rough Trade?” Not in New York? No problem. The prize includes round-trip airfare for the winner and one guest to New York City, plus a $500 stipend “for incidentals.” (Does beer fall under that, we wonder?) The contest closes on Monday, September 26, so time to start brainstorming how you would plan an all-night treat for your ears
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