In the heart of Dayton, Kentucky’s Historic District, tucked inconspicuously between a salon and a chiropractor’s office, sits SofaBurn Records, an independent record label founded by Chris Mueller. The label boasts an impressive roster of over 20 artists. From Kentucky-based country musician Jeremy Pinnell to Swedish blues-rock band Black River Delta, SofaBurn is non-genre specific and distributes music from local and international acts alike. But what makes the label truly unique is its founder’s artist-first, community-minded mission.
When Chris, a drummer and self-proclaimed “music junkie,” launched the label in 2006, he did not want to sign other artists. Instead, he thought founding the label would open doors for his own musical endeavors.
“I felt that I was running into a lot of walls because we were self-managed and self-booked, so I started a record label,” he explained. “It was just a vehicle for us to put our own records out.”
After founding SofaBurn, Chris continued recording and releasing music with several bands in the Northern Kentucky area. This is when he met Mike Montgomery, a fellow musician, sound engineer and the owner of Candyland Studio. The duo collaborated on several projects and a friendship blossomed.
One night while they recorded music in Montgomery’s studio, Chris asked a question that would change the SofaBurn legacy and the trajectory of their lives: “What if we could actually find a way to do music full-time?”
Montgomery agreed to the proposed business venture and became SofaBurn’s label manager. He was already in the process of relocating his studio to a new building in Dayton, so they transformed that space into a place where both SofaBurn and Candyland could thrive.
“It was a record label venture, but I was doing it in my recording studio, which was right down the hall,” Montgomery said about the new collaborative space.
Pinnell became the first act (outside of Chris and Montgomery’s bands) to sign with SofaBurn Records. Pinnell released his first album OH/KY in 2014 to critical acclaim.
“Chris really wasn’t putting bands out. He’d only started the record label to push his own band and he agreed to put my first record out,” Pinnell recalled.
The SofaBurn family grew. Daniel Martin Moore came to the label from Subpop, and Zach Gabbard, a member of the Cincinnati-based band Buffalo Killers, connected Chris to PR professionals. All the while, Chris, who has a master’s degree in social work, also prioritized philanthropic efforts.
“We set up a donor-advised fund, and we were donating money to a charitable cause every month,” he said. “That’s when we first became involved in the LGBTQ community and the low-income housing community.”
Then, the country was thrust into the COVID-19 pandemic. Musicians stopped touring, so operations at SofaBurn came to an abrupt stop. During this time, Chris saw the independent artists around him struggle to make ends meet.
“Folks were not able to pay for health care. Folks were not able to pay for their everyday needs because they relied on playing live to do that,” he said. “If they couldn’t do that, they were dead in the water.”
He decided to take action, and SofaBurn Inc. was born.
“We filed paperwork for our 501(c)(3), I put a board together and we decided, ‘We’re going to start a nonprofit and we’re going to help artists,’” he said.
One of those board members is Lynn Baker, a music-lover and Humana employee.
“My husband had a really rare cancer when we were in our late thirties. My girls had a complicated birth and lots of NICU stays, and my son has had a couple of rare conditions with complex surgeries,” Baker said. “So navigating the health care system was something that I’d been doing personally and professionally for like 15 years when Chris and I started talking.”
Baker joined SofaBurn Inc., and they began constructing the program. The board decided to focus on three main services: 1. Addressing any existing medical debt, 2. Finding care, and 3. Providing financial assistance.
They raised money to purchase insurance for independent artists through the health care marketplace. Baker hoped this would give individuals access to routine care, or as she described it: “help artists understand how to start taking preventive measures to care for themselves, instead of waiting until the tooth has to be pulled.”
One recipient of this aid is a Northern Kentucky-based painter David Mueller (of no relation to Chris). David studied at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. Then, in 1989, he moved to Cincinnati and briefly designed cards for Gibson Greetings. David left the commercial art world in 1991, with the help of local art benefactor Ramesh Malhotra, to pursue work as an independent fine artist. However, despite receiving many accolades and awards for his work, David still struggled financially, specifically with health care costs.
“You’re always jumping toward the next thing, the next commission, the next whatever,” he said, “And it’s a really crazy business, so health care costs and all that stuff are problematic for an artist.”
David and Chris met over two years ago, but David still vividly remembers the moment Chris told him about SofaBurn Inc. He says his jaw dropped.
“I was shocked, and they ended up paying for an entire year of my health premiums,” David shared. “I get so stressed about it [health care] because I’ve gone through so much, so SofaBurn has taken two years of that stress off of me. It’s a profound gift.”
After their original fundraiser, SofaBurn subsidized insurance for one artist. This year, they are covering monthly premiums for 13 artists, including David.
However, Baker warns of an impending uncertainty in health care triggered by shifts in the federal government.
“In 2025, it’s more important than ever to take care of yourself,” she said. “Because we don’t really know what the health care landscape will look like next year.
Despite this uncertainty, SofaBurn Inc. remains dedicated to its mission of supporting independent artists and recently announced a new partnership with Midwest Friends Fest, a two-day music festival this summer at the Southgate House Revival in Newport. In the future, Baker hopes to see the organization serve more communities across the country.
For more information about SofaBurn Records and SofaBurn Inc., visit sofaburn.com.
This story is featured in CityBeat’s March 5 print edition.
This article appears in Feb 19 – Mar 4, 2025.