Keeping the spirit with music
Festivals go virtual with the restrictions from the coronavirus.
With summer seemingly just out of reach, students find a taste of summer with the spring music festivals, Coachella and Stagecoach that are in the midst of many other concerts put on by a variety of artists. Junior, Maddy Sherwood, was one of these students. She had been planning on going to Stagecoach since September this year. Preparing with the Spotify playlist playing at all hours and picking out her outfits for the weekend, she was devastated to find out it had been canceled.
Because of the Coronavirus, the April festivals got canceled and then rescheduled to weekends in next October. Following these cancellations were the cancellations of many other artists the concerts and tours. The music community led by the passionate artists have adapted to the changes of everyday lives through different outlets.
Stagecoach has been updating their fans through their social media pages and even posted a new lineup, “I know it’s not going to be the same weekend as we planned but it’s cool to see that Stagecoach is allowing their fans to be involved through ‘Stagecouch’” said Sherwood.
The Stagecoach community is strong together as artists are performing through Sirius XM, where popular country channel, The Highway, will be playing music from the artists that were supposed to be performing in Palm Desert. Some of these artists are also doing Instagram Live videos to perform and answering questions from fans.
“’Coachella: 20 Years in the Desert’ opens up the vault for the very first time to present the performances and behind-the-scenes stories that shaped the music festival” (coachella.com).
Coachella paired with YouTube to make a free documentary for fans to relive the years of Coachella. The hour and 43-minute video allowed people fans to get a taste of Coachella while keeping safe through social distancing. The documentary shared old clips and described how the popular festival has changed through the two decades of music-filled weekends.
Stagecoach headliner, Thomas Rhett, posted a video on his Instagram saying, “New song cause why not.”
Rhett is not the only artist to have posted videos of new songs or releasing new music. The artists all seem to have one goal of continuing to provide the musical outlet for many listeners throughout the pandemic. Many artists are also going live and doing concerts through Instagram, YouTube, and other platforms.
“To hear Travis Scott was going to do a concert on Fortnite was a super fun thing to brighten up these long days,” Paige Brakke, junior, said.
To keep entraining fans, singer Travis Scott, is teaming up with the popular video game Fortnite and having multiple concerts from April 23-25. The online concert “Astronomical” will unite people online and release a new track for viewers.
“After seeing on TV, the different artists coming together to sing and bring a sense of calmness to everyone, I have learned the music community is very strong and they are all there for each other” Brakke said.
Various television stations have created concerts by having musicians play from the homes because of the restrictions from the virus. The artists have displayed a strong sense of community while entertaining their fans through these concerts. Other shows that normally have singers perform, like The Tonight Show have had people perform from the homes for the audience.
“I was so shocked to hear that Stagecoach and other concerts were being canceled, I thought it was a joke at first,” said Sherwood. “I’m hoping that it will all go back to normal soon, but I think it is making everyone appreciate going to concerts more.”
