Written by: Savannah Alday
After officials declared a state of emergency and asked everyone to participate in self-isolation, it came to no surprise that festivals rescheduled for later in the year. We talked a few weeks ago about these festivals and since then, soooo many artists have been forced to postpone or completely cancel their tours. Fortunately for fans, so many artists and musicians have taken to social media as a way to connect with them since they can’t tour. Most are hitting up their Instagram Lives regularly with several others using platforms like Facebook, and Youtube. There is now a wide range of celebrities offering different performances, live streams, and hangouts all done virtually. Obviously, many musical artists are doing what they do best by putting on what feels like a private concert to the viewers, bringing fans into their homes where they have set up makeshift studios. But that’s not everyone.
Miley Cyrus, for example, has started a new daily series she calls “Bright Minded.” You can tune in every weekday at 11:30 A.M. PT or 2:30 P.M. ET. It is a bit of a variety show because each day has a theme and everyone participating brings whatever they want to the table. For example, March 30th’s episode was called “Motivational Monday.” Miley will then bring on a handful of celebrities to join her via Instagram live to talk about the episode's topic. For “Motivational Monday” she was joined by Alicia Keys, Millie Bobby Brown, Zion Clark, and Selma Blair. The goal is to foster positivity during these dark times, as well as creating a space where fans get to interact with multiple celebrities they love. These episodes have allowed people to see sides to their favorite artists, athletes, and other celebrities that they had not seen before. These fans also leave the live streams with a more optimistic outlook on life.
Another artist that is coming to you live is Diplo. On any day you can find this man streaming his every move. Some days he’ll even go live during his workout. No matter what ordinary or crazy thing he is doing, he is going live! But most nights since quarantine, Diplo has been doing two hour DJ sets he calls “RONATRONIX,” so if you are down about not being able to go to EDC this year head over to Diplo’s page around 7 P.M. PT or 10 P.M. ET to rave!
There is no doubt we would rather see our favorite artists live and get to live it up at summer festivals, but at least we are able to come together as fan bases online. The most impressive part of all of this is that it was artists that decided to take the initiative and have concerts and just talk to fans. It showed me that artists really do care about their craft as well as their loyal fandoms for the support. I hope that in the months going forward, and as festivals and tours start to take place that artists will lay their hearts and souls on the stage. I wanna see artists interact and engage with their fans and go past the live stream, embracing everyone for supporting not only them but the world during these dark times. Follow With The Band on Instagram (@withthebandvip) to find out what artists are going live! We post a schedule on our story every Monday and Wednesday. As always, we love you guys! We hope you and your loved ones are staying healthy! We can’t wait to be back out there, helping you create fan meetups and fan projects!
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