Creative Ways Musicians Are Making the Best of Social Distancing
I’m sure you’ve noticed it.
Every time you open up Facebook or Instagram, dozens of people are broadcasting live. And many of them are musicians.
In this recent post I asked for your ideas and examples. I also uncovered a few of my own.
Here are some interesting ways music creators are making the most of staying home during the virus crisis.
The Corona Concert Series
Brandon and Jackie Gibbons, a married couple who perform together as The Gibbonses, just launched their Corona Concert Series.
Every Friday night at 7:00 PM Central, they play songs and stream live on both Facebook and Instagram.
The Simple Way to Go Live on Multiple Platforms at the Same Time
My significant other, Pooki Lee, and I have streamed live music a few times since the crisis began. You might think you need fancy software to broadcast to more than one platform at a time.
Not so. We just set up three devices.
Our laptop streamed live to YouTube. Her phone went live to her personal profile on Facebook, while my phone broadcast to my FB profile. And it worked!
Selling the Watch-from-Home Benefits
Cliff & Susan, another husband and wife duo, jumped on live streaming shows early. And, in a recent email, they did a particularly good job of listing the benefits of tuning in.
- You can dance and no one is watching.
- You don’t have to wear pants.
- Any age can watch, kiddos included. (We’re kid friendly.)
- That crazy lady who gets in your way on the dance floor isn’t there.
- You can sing as loud as you want and only your family and dog have to hear it.
- You are Corona free, unless you are drinking one.
- Non smoking or smoking… you pick.
- Pets are allowed. (Our Booker might be there.)
- No designated driver required.
- Save on travel and gas and watch from anywhere in the world.
Some musicians have taken the concept a step futher and created platforms where multiple artists can get exposure and reach fans.
The Indie Band Lounge
Leonard and Jessica Patterson created the Indie Band Lounge Facebook group, described as “A Virtual Venue for Musicians, Bands, and Fans.”
The couple goes live themselves on the page while also sharing links to other indie artists’s live streams.
Solo Piano TV
John Thomas posted this note:
Seeing that so many of my fellow solo piano artists were struggling with cancelled concerts, I created a Facebook group called Solo Piano TV, where piano artists can livestream and share their performance and music videos in one central place for piano music fans.
It’s great to see so many independent musicians stepping up to spread joy and make the most of this serious global dilemma.
A couple more examples …
Neil Diamond Delivers
If you haven’t seen this, it was an instant classic. It had me laughing and smiling ear to ear …
Wash Your Hands!
Dave Carroll, who made a viral video years ago called “United Breaks Guitars,” just released a new song.
He writes, “To help raise awareness about the importance of hand washing in these turbulent times, I wrote a song and shot a music video on the topic.
Friends in three Canadian cities and eight countries helped in the making of “Wash Your Covid 19 Hands.” He added, “Public Service Announcements don’t need to be scary.”
I hope these examples inspired some ideas and brought a smile to your face.
Hang in there. Together we WILL get through this!
