Due to COVID-19, many of us avid concert goers and festival lovers are watching our favorite events and shows get canceled or postponed until next year. Artists seem to be understanding how disheartening this is for their fans and are taking intimate pajama performances, covers, and live streams to the internet. Although it’s not the same as seeing them perform in real life, it is still a comfort to watch and hear the music at all while stuck in quarantine.
Here is a list of five must-watch live performances available on YouTube to entertain you while stuck at home.
- Dave Bayley “Quarantine Covers”
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Glass Animals’ Dave Bayley has been taking song requests and making episodes of “Quarantine Covers.” So far, he has done Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box,” Lana Del Rey’s “Young & Beautiful,” and Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me” all in his own signature sultry style and voice.
- NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts
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NPR Music has hosted roughly 900 Tiny Desk Concerts. Some of my favorite artists or groups to perform on Tiny Desk include Mac Miller, Weyes Blood, Leon Bridges and many more. There are so many available that I am still discovering new ones that I find beautiful and touching.
- KEXP-FM
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KEXP-FM, Seattle, Washington’s public radio, hosts a series of live performances that are uploaded to YouTube. The performances have short interview questions done between every few songs. One of my favorite full performances on KEXP is of boygenius, a band made up of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus harmonizing their voices and guitars.
- Pitchfork
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Pitchfork has a series of live full sets including that of Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile’s Sea Lice by the Seaside collaborative album, which ironically takes place with an ocean in the background of the performance. These two have a sacred gift for storytelling and guitar playing that is mesmerizing and catchy.
- Still Woozy “The Less I Know the Better”
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Still Woozy recently uploaded a cover of Tame Impala’s hit song “The Less I Know The Better.” What Kevin Parker describes as his “disco funk” single, Sven Gamsky of Still Woozy turns into a vocally soft and chill song perfect to listen and sing along to while lying in bed.