Well, it's officially festival season but most of the world is, unfortunately, still in quarantine season. But for a few possibilities in Europe, projections in the US say huge gatherings may not get going again until fall 2021. While no actual announcements have been made about events that far away so we can always hope, promotion companies and artists are announcing more and more and more online festies to keep people entertained even though they have to stay separated. Some even include activities and performances that aren't even music. It's all the the spirit of keeping spirits up, and we're here for it. Don't forget to check out our hashtag on Instagram #lockdown_getdown for our previous lists of online fun that's still going on.
Here's out festie-heavy picks for this week. Pick your favorites and jam in your jammies!
LivestreamsDespite our festie-focused intro, there's a diverse range of livestreams going on this week, from Nick Cave's 24/7 YouTube channel to vegan cooking lessons and classical music concerts, there's more than dancing on the roster for livestreams this week.
Facebook creates ability to charge for livestreams - It's impossible to talk about livestreams, many of which are on Facebook Live, without at least mentioning this announcement from Facebook and everyone's favorite meat-smokin' robot, the old Zuck. There's scant details at the moment as to how the feature will work and of course it has its positives and negatives, but at the very least some artists may now be able to get a bit of help in a time where the entertainment industry has come to a halt. What do our readers think? Sound off in the comments below.
EDC Livestream - This won't be for a couple of weeks yet but it's easily the biggest livestream to go up in the month of May. On May 16 and 17, Insomniac will hold a live virtural rave that, to their own testament, should be the online equivalent to EDC in both name and deed. Follow EDC on Twitter or set your alerts on YouTube on Insomniac TV to get ready for the party. It's almost guaranteed that this will not be your average online festival, so if you love EDM, in front of you TV is (oddly) the place to be.
Save the Dates...EDC has entered the Virtual Space! 🌼🎡⚡️ https://t.co/TYLQSv3iVk pic.twitter.com/zZejzslqZY
- EDC Las Vegas (@EDC_LasVegas) April 23, 2020
Bosh! Vegan Cooking Lessons Livestream - If you don't know the Bosh! boys, they're the two plant-based restaurant owners in London who make those slick cooking videos full of trip hop music and yummy-looking healthy dishes. On top of that, they have one of the best vegan cookbooks out in the last year called Bish Bash Bosh! Their livestream cooking shows will happen Monday through Friday on Instagram TV, so if you're looking for some culinary inspiration, the Bosh! guys are your guys. Check their Instagram for more details.
Remote Utopias Virtual Festival - The London-based streaming service NTS Live has set up a massive massive tomorrow, May 2 as a 24-hour virtual festival to benefit the Global Foodbanking Network charity. The event is free, they're just asking listeners donate. The huge lineup includes huge names like Skrillex, Erykah Badu, Tame Impala and lots more. Set times are already up, so visit the NTS website to plan your listening parties.
Beatport Presents ReConnect: Drum & Bass - After its successful fundraising campaign in the beginning of the quarantine where they did a 24-hour mixed genre festival (the livestream went an extra nine hours due to all the support), Beatport is now continuing their ReConnect Global Music Series by focusing on each genre of electronic music in kind. This week is drum & bass and it is, of course, a heavy lineup. Starting at 2pm BST, Beatport will stream the show on their own site, Twitch, Facebook and YouTube so fans will have lots of options. Another cool feature will be that the track IDs will be listed as the DJs play them and tracklists will be available after the stream as well.
Lineup includes the likes of Noisia, Black Sun Empire, Benny L, DJ Rap, Reid Speed, S.P.Y., Matrix & Futurebound and more. They're covering the scope of D&B subgenres here, so if you like bass, this is the virtual rave for you this weekend. Go to Beatport.com to watch directly from there and to get links to their other platforms for the stream. As before, proceeds go to The United Nations Foundation COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
Nick Cave's Bad Seed Teevee - Here's the one all you indie fans and ravenous Nick Cave buffs probably scrolled down to find. It's true: Nick Cave has started his own 24/7 streaming channel on YouTube which will feature past concerts, live interviews, music he fancies and maybe even some messages from The Preacher himself. In the time we had the stream on, we saw video of an orchestral rehearsal, a filmed studio session of "Honeybee (Let's Go to Mars)", the "Babe, I'm On Fire" music video and a particularly long and messy live performance of "No Pussy Blues". This stream is more than worth checking out; we daresay it's everything. Also be sure to check out Nick & TBS's new album, Ghosteen, also up to stream on multiple platforms.
Dreaming of Blackrock City Global Dance Party - Another of the biggest blows to the US's music festivals this year was the cancellation of Burning Man. While not associated with Burning Man itself, a group called Global Dance Party is seeking to recreate the experience with a virtual party starting tomorrow, May 2. Not just containing music, the festival will open with a follow-along online yoga class, followed by a day-long virtual party. Check out the Global Dance Party Facebook page for streaming info.
Vale's Axon Fest - Looking for a deep bass festival to livestream this weekend? East coast-based experimental label Vale has you covered. Their two-day festival features some of the coolest deep bass that's come out of anywhere in the last year. Day one is already in the can but be sure to tune in for day two tomorrow, May 2. Lineup features experimental superstars like Aeterna, Uprising, Det and Integrate. Want some weird? Check them out! Go to the Vale Facebook page for details and links to the stream.
Posted in Tagged Lockdown Get-Down, #lockdown_getdown, beatport, beatport reconnect, bosh!, bosh.tv, edc, global dance party, insomniac, lockdown get-down, nick cave, remote utopias, vale, virtual vestivals Most Recent