Last week, IMP introduced our Lockdown Get-Down series with lists each week of fun, online and at-home art and music-related things we can do during these more isolated times. Be sure to check last week's list, as quite a few of those things are ongoing.
This week, in addition to lots of livestreams by music artists, there are also lots of discounted lessons, contests and the newest point of interest, virtual tours. We'll also start listing foundations and campaigns where industry establishments are raising money for the music industry. If you have the means to give, please take a look at these foundations and donate of share them. So without further ado, here's our picks for this week, beginning March 28.
Livestreams and Concerts Of course there's lots of live streaming concerts, DJ mixes and even festivals going on now and coming up soon, not to mention more 24 hour curated streams.
1. Insomniac: After the success of last week's virtual Beyond Wonderland Rave-a-Thon stream, North America's biggest rave event company actually has a couple of things going on and upcoming, including another livestreamed rave right now!
Countdown Virtual Rave-a-Thon - Just like with Beyond Wonderland, Insomniac is posting virtual rave sets in the name of their New Year's party, Countdown, rapidly this weekend along with livestreams both Friday and Saturday. There are already seven sets up by the likes of Oookay, DJ Soda, Peekaboo and Tisoki from Friday and the Saturday madness starts at 8pm PST. Check out the playlist now and set a reminder on YouTube for the virtual rave!
Insomniac Rewind - Insmoniac has also posted a 24/7 livestream of footage from past EDCs and other Insomniac and Bassrush festivals, so now even though we're housebound there's no reason not to rave around the clock. Leave it to Insomniac to find a way to keep us up all night even when it's not at festies.
2. Backstreet's Back, All Right! - And not just the Backstreet Boys. Everyone's favorite boy band will be putting on a live concert on Fox TV and iHeartRadio. Also participating will be Elton John, Billie Eilish, Mariah Carey And Alicia Keys. It all kicks off tomorrow, March 29 at 9 EST. Check local listings for more information.
3. Beatport 24 Hour Livestream - EDM mega-site Beatport has also set itself up to do a 24 hour livestream on Twitch, but in this case it's all brand new sets from the best EDM DJs like Carl Cox, Teebee, Paul Oakenfold, Pete Tong, Nina Kraviz...the list goes on. It's probably the most comprehensive livestreaming EDM event out there so be sure to check it out on Twitch or the Beatport website. Beatport is also trying to raise money to help independent artists right now for the WHO's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund and the AEFM COVID-19 Hardship Fund and there's deep discounts on Beatport so think about purchasing that record or merch you've had your eye on right now on Beatport. The stream is also available on YouTube if you have trouble with twitch and just announced, the event will be running an extra nine hours, until 10pm PST Sunday, March 29.
4. Tidal at Home livestream - This service is streaming live daily concerts from all genres. Hip hop, EDM, indie...you name it. Tidal also has a massive library of concerts to stream online whenever the mood to groove should catch you. Check out the Tidal website to watch and dance.
5. Digital Mirage Online Music Festival - Yet another online festival is coming up March 3-5 with 100% of the proceeds will benefit the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund. The massive lineup includes Alison Wonderland, Valentino Khan, Adventure Club, Shades, Flosstradamus, G Jones, Kaskade...the list is nearly endless. To RSVP, fans must click here before April 2 and will be entered in a giveaway. This is one not to miss and fans can rave from their couches!
6. Individual livestream mixes - Since last week, a Facebook group just popped up for all the individual DJs everywhere to post their livestreams and mixes. It's a great way to track your favorites and find a stream any time of day or night, whether the artist is a big star like Kaskade or Run DMT or some of your local favorites. Run DMT is even streaming stuff from his life like cocktail recipes and multi genre mixes. Click join for the Facebook group or check the #stayhomedisco tag and check out some of our favorites below.
Contests and Classes This week, a number of online tutorial sites are heavily discounting their classes to help not only with the collective boredom but those who want to sharpen their skills. In that vein, songwriting and remix contests are in vogue as well as more art fun for kids. Here's our picks for this week:
1. Remix competition from Total Science - One of drum and bass's biggest duos have just posted an online remix competition for their track "Fallen Angel". They're allowing all genres as well, so don't think it has to be D&B. Apparently this is part of a larger remix contest called #remix this with the site metapop, so if "Fallen Angel" isn't your thing to remix, keep checking that hashtag or the metapop website for more stems.
2. Noel Fielding has extended his #artclub contest for kids. It will now be a weekly contest on Saturdays where entrants have two hours to submit their entries via Instagram and Twitter. Fielding picks a theme and the short list and then a weekly guest judge picks the winner. The more abstract, the better so get your kids involved!
3. The Other Art Fair weekly creative challenge - The Other Art Fair was an international event that had to be canceled in multiple cities due to the pandemic, so instead they are also doing weekly art challenges. Not necessarily a contest, the fair has announced that it will come up with different times challenges for artists each week, mostly just to play around with creativity and keep the juices flowing. Keep up on the new and challenges by following them on Instagram.
4. Ableton Production Training for $30 - Formal production training can be pretty expensive, but one website is offering 28 hours and seven courses of Ableton production training for only $29. If you've ever wanted to try out online production and either didn't have the funds or the friends to learn, now's your chance. Click here for details.
5. Online creative writing classes for under $30 - The New York Post is offering a ten-class package of creative writing classes for both experienced and novice writers to sharpen their skills. The Post is one of the best-known publications and their classes are college quality, usually costing over $1500. Here's the link for info and to sign up.
6. Oceans Initiative free online marine biology course for kids - to keep kids entertained, Oceans Initiative has collaborated with teachers and oceanographers to create a fun interactive course for kids to learn about the oceans, marine mammals and more. The classes are on Mondays and Thursdays at 11am PST and run through their Instagram account @oceansinitiative.
Art Displays and Virtual Tours Travelling the world is obviously a bit tough right now so it's great that tourist and art sites are stepping up so people can see the world virtually. Check out these cool virtual tourist attractions this week for fun, interest and beauty.
1. Vintage art posters available to download online for free - This is a project a number of museums have been contributing to, to upload litograph art posters from La Belle Epoque, the golden age of litho ads. The Minneapolis College of Art and Design has just uploaded over 200 of some of the most famous posters in history, like Le Chat Noir, The Green Devil Absinthe, the original Uncle Sam ad and many more art nouveau and art deco styles. Check out the massive collection and redecorate from home here.
2. Virtual tour of the Paris catacombs - This is not only cool and cultural but spooky and macabre for Poe fans, creepy history and more. The virtual tour of the underground labyrinth of graves, ancient architecture and cellars under Paris is both navigatable and interactive, with points of interest that visitors can click on to get more information. Just like a real guided tour! Click here to check out all the creepiness and history.
3. Winchester Mystery House virtual tour - Talk about creepy. For those who've never heard to it, the famous Winchester Mystery House is a Victorian-era house built by the heiress to the Winchester shotgun brand. Legend has it, she felt guilty about all the people who had been killed by her family's guns and believed she was haunted by their spirits so she built the house based on what their voices told her to do. She also thought she needed to keep building in order to keep more people from being hurt.
The house has doors that open to a four-story drop, staircases that lead to nowhere and a myriad of secret passages and doors. This virtual tour is probably a good idea anyway, as it's a pretty niche tourist attraction, being tucked away in San Jose, Northern California.The tour presents more like a documentary but it does a great job examining every bit of the house and the history of the house. Visit the Winchester Mystery House website to take the "tour".
4. Experimental films and video art list - Everyone's seen "The Tiger King" on Netflix by now as it's actually eclipsed news and memes of the actual virus on social media. But what about some more artsy or experimental films to break up the scandal? The art website Hyperallergic.com has put together a great list of art documentaries, video art installations and experimental films to check out so you can turn your house into a museum! Check the list out here.
Charities We've already mentioned a couple of great charities and how you can help both general relief efforts and artist and musicians who've lost their livelihoods but here is a full list. A lot of people are hurting economically, so if you can't donate, please share and we hope you enjoy your Lockdown Get-Down for this week.
Musicares Coronavirus Relief Fund GEMA Emergency Fund for Music Industry Workers Spotify COVID-19 Music Relief Fund WHO COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund United We Stream Club Culture In Quarantine Fund Sweet Relief Musicians Fund Ryan Reynolds Aviator Gin Bartender Relief Independent Music Promotions' (www.independentmusicpromotions.com) revolutionary music PR campaigns are the most effective in the industry. Submit your music to us today.Posted in Tagged Featured, backstreet boys, beatport, digital mirage, insomniac, livestreams, lockdown get-down, music relief charities, music solidarity, Twitch, virtual raves, virtual tours Lockdown Get-Down, Most Recent
