Unless you're Jared Leto, you’re probably well aware of the difficulties that live musicians and artists have been facing since COVID-19 hit our shores. According to ilostmygig—a new site set up to count the economic damage to the industry—over 220k gigs have been cancelled with lost income totalling $200M.
While that is pretty upsetting, it’s not all doom and gloom thanks to the guys behind Isol-Aid Music Festival.
Merpire, Small Time Group, Brunswick Music Festival and Turning Heads Agency have had a bit of spare time on their hands recently, so they put their heads together to create a new music festival which will be live streaming to a device near you this weekend.
They’ve got 72 musicians on board including Stella Donnelly, Didirri, Angie McMahon, Julia Jacklin, Harvey Sutherland and plenty more who will be playing from their homes, their studios, or wherever they find themselves in these times of physical distancing.
They’ll be streaming directly to their own Instagram accounts, then tag teaming with the next artist via split-screen so you can watch it all.
It’s going down from 12pm until 12am (AEDT) on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 March, so just make sure you’re following the hashtag #isolaidfestival to watch and, if you can afford to, throw a bit of money their way by buying their music, getting your hands on some merch or donating directly to the Support Act fundraiser.
Check out the full line-up and set times here.
The Details
What: Isol-Aid Music Festival
When: Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 March, 12pm to 12am (AEDT)
Where: On Instagram at #isolaidfestival
While you wait for that, you can go armchair travelling right now with these virtual experiences around the world.
Image credit: Tanner Boriack