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- Artists are playing live concerts from their homes amid the coronavirus outbreak — here's how to watch the best ones
Artists are playing live concerts from their homes amid the coronavirus outbreak — here's how to watch the best ones
Callie Ahlgrim
- Some artists are streaming acoustic concerts and intimate performances online amid the coronavirus outbreak.
- John Legend and Coldplay's Chris Martin helped launch a series of online concerts called "Together at Home," which is supported by Global Citizen.
- Global Citizen's "One World: Together at Home" event, curated by Lady Gaga, will feature performances from Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Pharrell, Alicia Keys, Shawn Mendes, Jennifer Lopez, Usher, and more.
- Artists like Dua Lipa and BTS performed hit songs for remote episodes of late night TV.
- Other musicians like Keith Urban, James Blake, JoJo, and FINNEAS have also livestreamed acoustic sets on social media.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
The coronavirus outbreak has caused mass cancellations of tours, concerts, and festivals. But some artists have remained determined to connect with fans through live music.
Musicians like Coldplay's Chris Martin, John Legend, Pink, Keith Urban, and Diplo have been livestreaming music and posting concert videos on social media. Below, Insider has compiled a running list of the performances you can watch online.
Note: This post was originally published on March 18 and will be continuously updated.
Read the original article on InsiderRolling Stone is launching an IGTV series titled "In My Room," with self-filmed sets from artists released every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
On Wednesday at 3 pm EST, Rolling Stone launched a new IGTV series titled "In My Room." New episodes will be released every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at the same time, featuring legacy artists as well as up-and-comers.
"The first episode kicks off with Brian Wilson singing his classic songs from his California home," the announcement reads. "It will be an intimate, unforgettable experience that you won't want to miss."
Willie Nelson's annual Luck Reunion festival was livestreamed online for free.
Luck Reunion 2020 became the first major music festival to be fully livestreamed amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Organizers had previously announced the postponement of the annual country festival. But instead of rescheduling or simply canceling, performances were broadcast for free online.
The five-hour event took place on Thursday. Fans can still watch the festival on Luck Reunion's Facebook page.
The video features sets filmed live by the artists themselves — many from living rooms, bedrooms, or home studios — including Nelson, Margo Price, Jewel, and Nathaniel Rateliff.
APM's "Live From Here" radio show launched a series of virtual concerts called "Live From Home."
American Public Media's radio variety show "Live From Here," hosted by musician Chris Thile, announced a series of virtual concerts on Sunday: "Ahoy! In the midst of these strange times, we're starting the #LivefromHome stage, a digital space for us to keep making and experiencing art when we can't be physically together."
All performances will be available to watch on YouTube. The first installment featured Thile covering Wilco's "Radio Cure." Artists are encouraged to post their own performances on social media using the #LiveFromHome hashtag.
Yungblud played a rock concert on YouTube, which featured cameos from Machine Gun Kelly and Bella Thorne.
On March 16, Yungblud played an hour-long set on YouTube. The high-energy performance even featured a brief intermission with cameos from Machine Gun Kelly and Bella Thorne, whom he invited to play a drinking game.
"having the ability to connect with you ain't gonna get taken away. f--- that. i can't wait to see you," he previously tweeted. "tell ya fookin mates. CONCERT MONDAY 7AM PST."
"i want the show to feel as real as possible," the rocker added, encouraging fans to tweet pictures of their outfits and videos of themselves "moshin in your room."
Nashville musicians have launched a series of online concerts called Virtual Festival.
Nashville-based musicians Allen Thompson and Rodney McCarthy launched Virtual Festival, a series of performances from local artists that will be livestreamed each night.
"We are a group of Nashvillians ranging from musicians to publicists to medical sales professionals. The one thing that ties us all together is our love for music," the official Facebook page reads. "Virtual Festival was founded in direct response to the closures of festivals, venues, and tours due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Virtual Festival seeks to offset the losses of the entertainment industry by offering streamed performances by bands across the country, with fans donating directly to musicians via PayPal and Venmo in lieu of ticket sales."
L Devine will stream five performances from different platforms online.
L Devine was meant to go on a European tour with pop singer-songwriter Fletcher, but it was postponed. So, instead, the "Boring People" singer announced an online "URL tour," a series of five shows that were each streamed live on a different platform: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. You can watch her final performance here.
"I thought it would be cool to do something virtual that we can all be a part of," she wrote on Twitter.
Diplo livestreamed two DJ sets on YouTube.
On March 13, Diplo livestreamed an hour-long, low-key DJ set he dubbed "Corona Sabbath," which is now available to watch on YouTube.
Two days later, he spun a more upbeat mix alongside a group of friends, including dancer (and Savage x Fenty fashion show choreographer) Parris Goebel. He dubbed the second livestream "A Very Lazer Sunday," which is also available to watch on YouTube.
Hunter Hayes also streamed a performance from a Nashville warehouse.
Hunter Hayes also performed live from a warehouse in Nashville, which you can watch now on YouTube.
"Even at a time like this, music is a powerful healing agent," Hayes said.
Keith Urban streamed a performance in his Nashville warehouse live on Instagram.
Keith Urban performed for 30 minutes in his Nashville warehouse and streamed it live on Instagram. The video, which features a cameo from Urban's wife Nicole Kidman, is now watchable in an Instagram post.
"Even though we can't be in front of all of you guys tonight, I want to be able to play some songs and bring some entertainment to wherever you guys are watching," Urban said.
Katharine McPhee and husband David Foster will also perform live every day on Instagram.
Katharine McPhee said that she and her husband, Grammy-winning composer David Foster, would livestream a joint performance on Instagram every day at 5:30 pm PT. She also encouraged fans to comment with song suggestions.
Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard will livestream performances from his home studio every day.
Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard announced on March 17 that he'd be "playing songs everyday from my home studio" over the next few weeks. The indie rocker will stream the performances on YouTube and Facebook at 4 pm PST. Gibbard also teased the possibility of having "a guest or two stop by digitally."
"I know you are all really freaked out right now. I am too," Gibbard wrote on Twitter. "And while I'm proud that we're all doing the necessary things at the moment to help flatten the curve, I know it has left us all incredibly isolated."
"But because we're all going through this nightmare together we are quite literally NOT alone. Our lives and stories are all linked, maybe more now than they have ever been."
Pink posted a video of her "free concert slash piano lesson."
"Free concert slash piano lessons from my heart to yours," Pink wrote on Instagram, alongside a video of her playing guitar and singing "To Make You Feel My Love."
More than 30 Latin artists took part in Telemundo's virtual event Concierto en Casa.
On Saturday, the Spanish-language TV network Telemundo hosted a massive virtual event called Concierto en Casa (which translates to "Concert at Home"). More than 30 Latin music artists performed from their own homes or studios, including J Balvin, Emilio Estefan, Luis Fonsi, and Sebastián Yatra.
The concert is now available to watch on the Telemundo app and NBC's website.
Vance Joy performed fan-favorites like "Georgia" and "Riptide" during an Instagram livestream.
Vance Joy joined the "Together at Home" series with a 30-minute acoustic set, which you can watch now on Instagram.
Irish rock band Picture This performed live on Instagram.
Picture This livestreamed for the "Together at Home" series on March 23. You can watch the band's 30-minute set on Instagram.
Olly Alexander of Years and Years performed a piano-driven set on Instagram live.
Olly Alexander of Years and Years played the piano during his livestream for the "Together at Home" series.
"hope ur all staying safe at home, isolating and physically distancing," he wrote on Instagram, where you can watch the 35-minute set. "We will get through it together !! If you want to know more about actions you can take to help slow the spread of coronavirus head to globalcitizen.org/coronavirus."
Christine and the Queens will livestream performances every day on Instagram.
Christine and the Queens will play music live on Instagram, around 6 pm EST every day.
"I'll find a way to deal with the ENNUI," she wrote on Monday, alongside a 14-minute performance. "Guests and weird concepts included."
The "Tilted" singer also took part in "Together at Home" on March 23.
Bastille frontman Dan Smith performed the band's hits on his piano.
Bastille's Dan Smith livestreamed on Sunday for the "Together at Home" virtual concert series, which you can now watch on Instagram. He opened the 20-minute set by praising Global Citizen's work to combat the coronavirus and wishing everyone in the UK a happy Mother's Day.
Smith sang Bastille's hit song "Pompeii" and covered the Fugees' "Killing Me Softly" while playing the piano. He even performed a cover of "Jolene" but changed the lyrics to reflect the current crisis, urging listeners to stay home and wash their hands.
OneRepublic performed for 20 minutes on Instagram live.
OneRepublic also took part in "Together at Home." Frontman Ryan Tedder and bassist-slash-cellist Brent Kutzle performed on Instagram live on Friday, which is now available to watch in a post.
Hozier sang acoustic versions of his own songs, as well as fan-requested covers, on Instagram live.
Hozier was up next for Global Citizen's "Together at Home" concert series. You can watch his Instagram live performance in a post on his feed.
He sang acoustic versions of his own songs, including "Nina Cried Power" and "From Eden," and even covered some songs that fans requested, like Britney Spears' "Toxic."
Niall Horan played songs from his new album during an acoustic set on Instagram live.
Niall Horan took part in "Together at Home" with a livestreamed performance on Thursday. The "Heartbreak Weather" singer played old songs, covers, and a few tracks from his new album, including "No Judgement," "Nice to Meet Ya," and "Black and White."
"The more self-isolating we do, the quicker we can get rid of this," Horan said in the video, shouting out Taylor Swift for encouraging her fans to cancel plans and stay home as much as possible.
You can watch the performance now on Instagram.
"Many thanks to @glblctzn and @who for having me be a part of this terrific series," Horan wrote in the caption.
Charlie Puth sang hits like "Attention" and "See You Again" during a "virtual concert" at his parents' house.
Charlie Puth became the next musician to take part in "Together at Home" when he livestreamed a piano-dien performance on Wednesday, which you can now watch in a post.
The singer-songwriter encouraged viewers to "stay home, wash your hands," and visit Global Citizen's website to learn more about slowing the spread of coronavirus.
"When they asked me to be a part of this, of course, I said yes," he said of the organization. "Encouraging people to keep practicing social distancing — but why not have some fun and listen to some music while you're doing that?"
Legend also performed music on Instagram live as part of "Together at Home."
John Legend livestreamed for nearly a full hour on Tuesday, which is now watchable in an Instagram post. He covered songs like Stevie Wonder's "Love's in Need of Love Today" and performed his own hit "All of Me," all while playing the piano. Legend even previewed a new song, titled "Actions," from his forthcoming album.
The livestream also featured a cameo from Legend's wife, Chrissy Teigen, who sat on the piano in a towel and sipped from a wine glass.
Legend teased upcoming installments of "Together at Home" from Miguel and Charlie Puth. Teigen called for Ariana Grande to join in and perform online — which was captured by a tweet that Grande liked, indicating the possibility of her involvement in the future.
Coldplay's Chris Martin performed on an Instagram livestream, supported by Global Citizen.
Chris Martin has helped launched "Together At Home," an initiative supported by Global Citizen, which is billed as a series of online concerts in order to promote social distancing.
The Coldplay frontman played "a mini gig at home" during a 30-minute livestream on Tuesday. The video is now watchable in an Instagram post.
Alessia Cara performed a 13-minute acoustic set in her bathroom.
For MTV's "Unplugged at Home" series, Alessia Cara sang two songs from her 2019 EP, "This Summer," and the single "A Little More" from her sophomore album. You can watch her acoustic set on YouTube.
FINNEAS performed songs like "Die Alone" and "I Lost A Friend" on his piano.
For MTV's "Unplugged at Home" series, the singer-songwriter-producer performed two songs from his debut EP, as well as a cover of Lana Del Rey's "Without You." You can watch his 13-minute performance on YouTube.
JoJo performed new songs and an old favorite.
Wyclef Jean became the first musician to participate in MTV's "Unplugged at Home" series.
MTV recently launched a virtual version of its famous Unplugged series, dubbed "Unplugged at Home," which sees artists perform two or three "stripped down acoustic versions of their greatest hits" and "discuss the meaning and inspiration behind each song from the comfort of their own homes."
For the series' first performance, Wyclef Jean sang "If I Was President," the original "Hips Don't Lie," and his 1997 hit "Gone Till November." You can watch the 10-minute set on YouTube.
Club Q is an "online queer party" thrown every night.
Club Q is a nightly Zoom party that's capped at 1,000 participants at a time. It features a different lineup each night and includes drag performances, mini-concerts by queer artists, and DJ sets by celebrities like Charli XCX, who played 30 minutes of "personal favorites and rarities from her own back catalog" on March 25. Details can be found on the official Instagram page.
James Blake covered Billie Eilish and Frank Ocean during an Instagram livestream.
You can watch James Blake's two-part livestream on his Instagram. His set, which lasted for over an hour, included songs from his three most recent albums, as well as covers of "When the Party's Over" by Billie Eilish and "Godspeed" by Frank Ocean.
Light in the Attic presented a virtual charity concert on April 3, with performers like Ben Gibbard and Devendra Banhart.
The independent record label Light in the Attic organized "a very special livestream" on April 3, which you can now watch on YouTube.
The two-hour event included performances from Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard, Devendra Banhart, Fred Armisen, Barbara Lynn, and more.
Elton John hosted the iHeart Living Room Concert for America, which featured performers like Billie Eilish and Alicia Keys.
The iHeart Living Room Concert For America was livestreamed on March 29. The 12-hour virtual concert is now available to watch on YouTube, and included memorable remote performances from artists like Billie Eilish, Alicia Keys, Dave Grohl, Tim McGraw, Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, Sam Smith, and Mariah Carey.
BTS performed "Boy With Luv" from a remote location.
"Homefest: A Late Late Show Special" also featured an appearance from BTS. The K-pop group members are evidently quarantining together because they performed their hit "Boy With Luv" from a remote location in South Korea. You can watch it on YouTube.
Dua Lipa performed "Don't Start Now" with her dancers and bandmates on video chat.
On March 31, James Corden presented what he dubbed the "strangest" episode of his CBS variety show yet. "Homefest: A Late Late Show Special" featured remote appearances from Billie Eilish and John Legend to "bring some joy and some music."
One of the episode's highlights included Dua Lipa singing "Don't Start Now" via video chat alongside her dancers and bandmates, who joined her remotely. You can watch it on YouTube.
"A Concert A Day" is a 60-day series of concert streams to raise money for MusiCares.
Pickathon launched the series "A Concert A Day" on April 8, which raises money for the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund.
Every day through June 7, at 1 pm PST and 4 pm EST, a new performance will be premiered or livestreamed via the Recording Academy's Facebook page, Amazon Music's Twitch channel, and Pickathon's YouTube channel. Featured artists include Margo Price, Mac DeMarco, Tyler Childers, and Foxygen.
Facebook Live hosted "Human to Human," which features performances from Grouplove, Tori Kelly, Skylar Grey, and more.
Facebook Live hosted a virtual fest called "Human to Human" on April 11, which raised over $60,000 for Plus 1's COVID-19 Relief Fund. You can watch the nine-hour event now on YouTube.
The Black Pumas will perform a live studio session on Thursday.
The Black Pumas will perform from their studio in Austin, TX, on Thursday (April 16) at 5 pm PST and 8 pm EST.
Singer Eric Burton and guitarist Adrian Quesada, who were nominated for best new artist at the 2020 Grammy Awards, assured fans they'd remain six feet apart while performing stripped-back versions of their songs.
The set will be livestreamed on the band's Facebook and YouTube channels and will benefit MusiCares.
"Music Lives 2020" is a 48-hour online music festival that will feature artists like Nas, J Balvin, and Swae Lee.
LivexLive, Global Citizen, and TikTok have teamed up to present "Music Lives 2020," a 48-hour virtual music festival that kicks off on Friday (April 17). It will be streamed live on LivexLive.com and all of its social apps, including TikTok.
The event will feature over 50 performances and benefit MusiCares, a non-profit affiliated with the Recording Academy, which recently established the COVID-19 Relief Fund.
Global Citizen's "One World: Together at Home" event will take place on Saturday (April 18) and feature a lineup curated by Lady Gaga.
The star-studded event, supported by WHO and Global Citizen, was designed to raise money for the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, as well as local charities that are fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
By Tuesday, April 14 — when the lineup was expanded to include A-listers like Celine Dion, Jennifer Lopez, Pharrell Williams, Sam Smith, Shawn Mendes, Taylor Swift, and Usher — the initiative had already raised $35 million.
"We want to raise the money before we go on air. When we do go on air, put your wallets away, your credit cards away, and enjoy the show," Lady Gaga explained during a livestream promoting the event.
"One World: Together at Home" will air on Saturday, April 18 at 8 p.m. EST on ABC, NBC, ViacomCBS Networks, iHeartMedia and Bell Media networks. It will also be livestreamed on Alibaba, Amazon Prime Video, Apple, beIN Media Group, Facebook, Instagram, LiveXLive, Tencent, Tencent Music Entertainment Group, TIDAL, TuneIn, Twitch, Twitter, Yahoo and YouTube. You can see the full lineup on Global Citizen's website.
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