The Best Virtual Concerts So Far
Live music has taken a bit of a beating in the last year or so thanks to the pandemic. However, performers are taking to the virtual stage to give their fans some incredible once-in-a-lifetime experiences. It’s been great to see so many artists embracing the “new normal” and ensuring that they can still connect to the world and bring people together through their music.
Here is a list of some of the best live-but-online concerts that some top performers have put on so far:
#TogetherAtHome
This isn’t one particular concert, but rather a series of incredible moments where massive stars took to their social media profiles and gave fans a big treat. One of the earliest Instagram concerts was done by Coldplay’s Chris Martin. He sat at his piano and played several of the band’s greatest hits with no fuss or frills. Another big concert that wasn’t really a concert was when John Legend and his wife Chrissy Teigen hung out Live on Instagram, taking requests for songs by fans. Both of these Live sessions are available to re-watch on YouTube at any time.
Where Do We Go? The Livestream
It’s not surprising that Billie Eilish was one of the big artists that got the idea of a virtual concert so right. The concert was a mix of highly polished music video and intimate concert with no frills. It was just singer Eilish, her brother Finneas and drummer Andrew Marshall playing live. Added to this was an everchanging swirl of scenery on LED screens and animatic characters to create an augmented reality (AR). Fans were also given a live chatroom to interact with each other so that they could connect the same way they would at an actual concert. For many, this event was the epitome of how the online streaming world can bring live music to the real world.
Travis Scott On Fortnite
American rapper Travis Scott took the idea of a virtual concert to a whole new level when he teamed up with Epic Games to host an actual concert within the world of their multi-player computer game Fortnite. The developers created a massive avatar for Travis and used properly psychedelic visuals to create a virtual concert effect – one that could only be done in an online setting. 12.3 million players signed in to let their avatars take part in the concert, which was a record number for the game in terms of people signed in at any one time. For those who love the game, it was like actually getting to attend a concert.
Lil Nas X on Roblox
Travis Scott wasn’t the only one to team up with a video game for a concert. Lil Nas X performed four of his hit songs on the kids social gaming platform Roblox. The developers ran a motion capture program on the singer performing and then styled him and his surrounding to match the four different songs and the platform. These performances garnered 33 million views over the weekend.