Pandemic Livestreams – 2020 and 2021

In 2020 and early 2021 the pandemic was raging, no vaccine was available, and thousands of people were dying terrible deaths weekly. The world really did shut down in significant ways – jobs (where possible) went remote, school went remote, many businesses shuttered, while others adapted by providing drive through service, delivery and so on. I saw no live, in-person music from March, 2020 through January 2022.
In the early weeks and months after lockdowns began, many performers organized streaming events. My wife and I watched an early one headlined by Willie Nelson, which was also a fundraiser for folks who had been impacted by the pandemic. It kind of jumped around from artist to artist, each one playing a couple songs from their own studios or living rooms. Patti Smith streamed a performance with her band. At that time folks would literally quarantine for a week or two before gathering, and the drummer still wore a mask as I recall. Kaelan Mikla streamed from Iceland, which was relatively protected from the virus. Vial performed in their basement and the Aquadolls streamed from bass-player Keilah’s couch, with Jackie doing percussion on a cajon.

By far the most amazing stream I saw was Mary Timony performing songs from her beautiful album Mountains, which had recently been re-released on its 20th anniversary. The performance was recorded in St Mark’s church in Washington, DC and everything about it was magical. This was a ticketed event that was only available for a few days in March of 2021. Mary was joined by a number of accomplished musicians – Mark Cisneros, David Christian, Amy Domingues, and Winston Yu inside the airy church. There were strings, flute, keyboards and percussion. Only 6 six songs, but it was so magical.

I’m writing this in August of 2024, and the pandemic is still raging, despite assurances from politicians and business leaders that the pandemic is behind us. All the pandemic mitigations from 2020 and 2021 have largely ended. Meaningful statistics are no longer being collected from hospitals, and some cities are actually passing anti-masking legislation (!) with the ostensible goal of public safety. I am personally recovering from my second infection, which has really knocked the wind out of my sails. It’s really a time of collective stupidity, and total abnegation of responsibility by politicians and health officials.