Tracking The Continued Impact Of The Coronavirus On The Arts

Plus, how to best support musicians during the crisis; new music and Tiny Desks to keep you company

by Marissa Lorusso and Lyndsey McKenna Chona Kasinger for NPR It almost goes without saying: The coronavirus pandemic is continuing to dominate headlines all over, and it’s dramatically reshaped life across the globe. And as we noted last week, the arts and music industries are particularly vulnerable right now.  More tours, performances and events have been canceled or postponed, from the annual Eurovision competition to Bonnaroo; the Metropolitan Opera has laid off all of its union employees for the duration of the coronavirus crisis and has canceled all performances through the end of its 2019-20 season. Across NPR, our colleagues are working to bring you the latest. We’re analyzing the immediate impact of the closures and postponements and asking musicians how their lives have been changed over the past few weeks; what it’s like to release an album right now; the impact of the crisis on jazz musicians; and how it feels to conduct an orchestra in an empty room. Our digital news counterparts are leading a liveblog with the latest updates, all in one place. You can also subscribe to Coronavirus Daily for a podcast version of the day’s news.  Flatten the curve,  Marissa Lorusso and Lyndsey McKenna  Newsletter continues after sponsor message New Music Despite everything that’s going on in the world this week, there’s still lots of great new music to hear. On this week’s New Music Friday from All Songs Considered: a euphoric burst of joy from J Balvin, The Weeknd's long-anticipated and darkly mysterious new album, shape-shifting bops from Becca Stevens and more. Nashville's famously bustling live music scene has temporarily gone silent — first partially interrupted by the March 3 tornadoes, then halted altogether in response to COVID-19. So it’s a great time to catch up on some of the city’s best new music. This week, Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams shared a new track from her forthcoming solo album, Petals for Armor, featuring the voices of Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers, aka boygenius. Featuring The All Songs Considered team usually heads to Austin every March for South by Southwest for a week of music discovery. This year, for the first time since its founding, there was no festival, but we’ve continued our tradition of highlighting 100 artists who were scheduled to perform in Austin. Check out each artist individually, or stream the whole playlist. This week on All Songs Considered, we’re also talking about the artists we’ll miss at SXSW.  In times of stress, it’s important to keep our psyches healthy. This week, we started a series called Our Daily Breather, where we’re sharing daily recommendations from artists and writers about what’s helping them stay well. For musician Half Waif, it’s a comfortable couch; for NPR’s classical critic Tom Huizenga, it’s a restorative piano performance. Facing down the prospect of postponed festivals and canceled tours, we saw many of our favorite artists turn to livestreaming this week as a way to perform for a virtual audience. We’ve been updating our virtual concert listing constantly since launch; we recommend bookmarking it for an up-to-date schedule. The coronavirus pandemic is having a particularly devastating effect on many musicians. Writer Cherie Hu has researched how best to support artists and music-industry professionals and what resources are out there for them during the crisis. And with an increased focus on buying merch to support artists, we compiled some of the most innovative things we’ve seen from some of our favorite musicians, from Caroline Rose’s “Superstar” script necklace to Palehound’s custom embroidery kit.  Tiny Desk Max Posner/NPR When word got out that Harry Styles was spotted in D.C. a few weeks ago with no tour date on his public schedule, a group of fans gathered outside NPR HQ, having suspected that the former One Directioner would be playing a Tiny Desk. They were right, and his performance brought a joyous, unpretentious creativity to songs from his latest album, Fine Line. And this week, we sought comfort in our most calm Tiny Desk concert sets. From the moving set by Max Richter — who performed “On The Nature Of Daylight,” which featured prominently in Arrival and Jiro Dreams of Sushi — to the meditative soundscapes of Laraaji, to the quietude of The Innocence Mission’s hushed reflections, we’ve compiled five calming concerts for some soothing viewing. Playlist Spotlight Last week, we shared our Isle Of Calm playlist: six hours of soothing tunes hand-picked by the NPR Music team. We’re continuing to keep it updated with more songs, in case you need some extra relaxation.  One More Thing “Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, I'm begging of you please don't take my man / We will, we will wash you (wash you)." What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: nprmusic@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Books, Pop Culture, Health and more! Need a new playlist? 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