The world is experiencing something it’s never felt before as the coronavirus makes its way across the globe, taking away all chances of continuing a normal life. With it, the virus brings isolation and boredom as social distancing continues. Many are left stuck in their homes with nothing to occupy their minds and distract themselves from the anxiety-inducing situation. People’s homes are not equipped to occupy their inhabitants for long periods of time, causing many of us to lay around all day, binging Netflix or aimlessly scrolling through our phones, only briefly taking our minds off of everything happening around us. Artists are stepping up though live performances.

Opportunities are arising to listen to your favorite singer/musician live while being stuck in your home. In order to lighten up the world a bit, musicians are live streaming “home-concerts” for people to tune into during their free time. Another thing that celebrities are thinking about when recording the concerts is pleasing the fans who bought tickets and planned on seeing them in concert. Obviously, holding these large gatherings is impossible while keeping the CDC’s regulations on social distancing. Feeling bad for the event cancellations or indefinite postponements, artists are trying to give listeners a little taste of what they were looking for over the internet. 

Many artists are live streaming themselves on Instagram through Instagram Live Stories. This allows them to stream themselves at a moment’s notice. It also allows listeners to comment while they are performing which helps achieve one of the main goals of these concerts: helping everyone feel connected despite the distance. Another option that is being used by many is YouTube. The platform has had live streams for a while, but musicians that normally are just posting their songs as videos are now taking advantage of these streaming capabilities by sharing live music from their living rooms. 

There is a wide variety of options on who to watch no matter the taste in music. For fans of pop, John Legend and Alicia Keys can be found on Instagram. Those in favor of rap might find more interest in D-Nice as well as the Migos. Even alternative artists are joining in on the fun. Emma Conway, a senior, watched Vance Joy’s live concert. She stressed, “It was really nice to listen to my favorite artist for an hour and it brought back memories of when I attended his concert in 2018.” Musical theater fans  are not being left out either as Andrew-Lloyd Webber and Lin-Manuel Miranda, two famous writers, are also taking to the virtual stage.

So while we all might be stuck inside, trying to find stuff to keep us occupied, there are plenty of musicians giving a little bit of light, sharing a song with the world when it’s needed most.