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As we all adjust to the new normal of shutdown-life, sweaty nights moshing to live bands are likely to be a distant memory. But just because we’re all stuck at home in our Covid-19 isolation chambers shouldn't mean we can’t rock out to our favourite gigs. And we don’t just mean sticking your fave ‘live’ albums on high rotation. We’re talking about the real deal: live music in real-time.
And that's exactly what you'll find at newly launched website, Sofa King Fest. It's a clever go-to international gig guide for all the live-streaming performances going off in a glorious no-surrender response to the pandemic shutdown from musicians.
Confirmed artists set to feature so far include the legendary bandana-wearing country star Willie Nelson and hip hop supergroup Cypress Hill along with Melissa Etheridge, Big Freedia, Trombone Shorty, ATRAK, Tank and the Bangas and Triple Threat DJs.
The Marys Group, Sydney’s hospitality champions of beastly burgers and live gigs, will be curating the Australian contingent of Sofa King Fest.
Built and organised by a small army of volunteers from both the music and tech industries, it functions as both a listings and fundraising platform, connecting fans to their favourite bands in these crazy distancing days.
“During these extraordinarily difficult times we wanted to do our part to help all the artists and crew members whose livelihoods have been adversely affected by the massive festival and tour cancellations, and bar and club closures,” said Reid Martin, co-founder of Sofa King.
“Sofa King aims to help musicians work from their homes and studios and to connect them via live streaming to the millions of music fans who are also stuck at home.”
Every cent of donations received during Sofa King Fest shows will go directly to artists and production crews out of work due to Covid-19, or the artist’s charity of choice. Donations will be made directly on-site during an artist’s performance via an integrated ‘Donate’ button and deposited into the artists' Venmo/PayPal or another preferred payment method.
Check out the website to see who is performing and when to tune in for a “main stage” gig from your very own couch.