As someone who covers live music, with a passion, I am sure you can understand how torturous these past few months have been for me. Philly’s live music scene has been steadily thriving these past few years and it has been so exciting to watch. It’s been heartbreaking at times to see shows that were much anticipated be canceled and postponed left and right.
Artists are well known to push through at the worst of times so it makes sense that there’s been a shift when it comes to creativity. With the latter half of 2020 holding so much uncertainty, artists have had to find some innovative ways to bring live music to their fans. Enter the popularity of live-streaming performances.
Annual music festivals such as The Roots Picnic and Lollapalooza took to free live-streaming this year in an effort to not let down fans who had big hopes of attending this year. Lollapalooza gave the fans who may have never traveled to the festival a big treat by including performances from Pink Sweat$, H.E.R., DaniLeigh, Tank and The Bangas as well as performances from previous years from acts such as Outkast and Chance the Rapper. The Roots Picnic had some incredible performances this year from Black Thought, H.E.R., Musiq Soulchild, Aquildawud, and Snoah Allegra. While nothing truly takes the place of listening to live music at your favorite venue while surrounded by other music fans, enjoying performances from home also has its perks; there’s no waiting in line and every seat is a front row seat. Click on the links for our picks for where you can enjoy live music from home.
NPR’s been cranking out some great content with their At Home series featuring performances by Black Thought, Alicia Keys, Jacob Collier, Tom Misch, and Little Dragon. This is also a good time to catch up on some notable original Tiny Desk Concert performances you may have missed such as & More and Anderson Paak.
The COLORS concert series is a great way to hear some faves like PJ Morton, Mahalia, and Moses Sumney as well as discover some newer artists like Ego Ella May and other international artists.
This annual citywide celebration had to go to virtual this year as well. Click on the link to see this year’s featured performers Jason Derulo and Cynthia Erivo.
Chill Moody Girls Like Nice Things and Chill Moody Music Stage:
Chill Moody took the reins as festival curator with two virtual stages this year for Wawa Welcome America. Chill Moody Girls Like Nice Things featured an all ladies including Noel Scales, Queen Jo and DJ Tati Mia. Later on Chill Moody took the Chill Moody Music Stage along with Hank McCoy and more.
One of the most positive things to come out of the pandemic has been the rising popularity of live DJ sets. Be sure to visit the IG and Twitch accounts of DJ Aktive, Kwame, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Questlove, and even comedian Deon Cole for an instant dance party at home pick me up.
Love from Philly was the first and largest three day music festival that supported Philadelphia artists and venues. Philly Soul Live was honored to be a part of this special event featuring artists such as Res, Freeway, Arnetta Johnson, Zeek Burse and more.
Live Nation Urban’s Soundcheck and Comfort Covers series include laidback performances from Philly’s own Brianna Cash, Amber Mark, Sebastian Mikael and India Shawn.
Known for their packed living room concerts, Sofar Sounds has created an online listening room. Click on the link for performances by Kingsley Ibeneche, Rubber, and more.