What Will The Future Of Live Music Look Like?

Plus, a Tiny Desk (home) concert by Víkingur Ólafsson; the staying power of "Teenage Dirtbag."

by Marissa Lorusso and Lyndsey McKenna Mikkel Berg Pedersen/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images A show staged on a rooftop performed to a masked crowd below. Drive-in concerts enjoyed in the passenger seat. Sets performed outdoors at tables set at a safe distance. It all would’ve seemed strange just months ago, but in our new normal, could these solutions be part of the future of live music? The reality is that these temporary pivots may only provide a stopgap for the industry. The damage done to independent live music by the coronavirus has already been catastrophic, and industry consensus seems to be that a federal stimulus package may be the only way for venues to survive long enough to see the end of the pandemic and beyond. But intervention is only the first step. This week, we surveyed what venues have done so far to adapt to ever-changing circumstances, and what they think the future might look like. In addition to COVID precautions, many musicians and venues are currently responding to the increased national conversations about racial injustice, which have reignited a focus on these inequalities within music scenes. This week, we heard from a group of Minnesota musicians who are trying to establish Auntie's, “a venue owned by womxn of color rooted in radical freedom of expression without judgement.” The musicians know there’s a long road ahead, but hope to open the venue sometime next year. “For us, we're really just taking our time with it and making sure that we're listening to the community,” says founder DJ Keezy. To shows to come, Marissa Lorusso and Lyndsey McKenna P.S. If the state of live music has you feeling blue (have we mentioned we desperately miss concerts, too?), the musicians of Lincoln Center have something to lift your spirits. With shows on pause in New York City and elsewhere, volunteers from the New York Philharmonic are performing free pop-up shows (masks and social distancing required) for essential workers and their families. Newsletter continues after sponsor message New Music If you know All Songs Considered host Robin Hilton, then you know he loves two things maybe more than anyone else on our team: coffee, and the music of Son Lux. Lucky for him, this week’s New Music Friday show has new music from Son Lux and Kathleen Edwards, who took time away from music to found a coffee shop called Quitters Coffee. Plus: Hear highlights from new albums from Nigerian artist Burna Boy, Chicago duo Whitney and Tiny Desk Contest winner Fantastic Negrito.  A dynamo at the piano with an introvert's demeanor, Micah Thomas is having the jazz equivalent of a standout rookie season, both as an in-demand sideman and with his assured debut album, Tide. WBGO’s Nate Chinen talked to the phenom for Morning Edition.  The members of LADAMA first met at a fellowship focused on songwriting and social engagement. Hailing from four different countries – Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and the U.S. – the group’s captivating music defies categorization. Hear more about the band’s origins, influences and its second record, Oye Mujer, which was crowdfunded, on this week’s Alt.Latino. Featuring Last year, Ruston Kelly released a cover of Wheatus’ “Teenage Dirtbag”: a strange cult hit that sounds like a collision of everything you’d hear across the FM dial when it was released 20 years ago. As part of NPR Music 20|20, Kelly helps us break down the song’s staying power. Last month, Mikel Jollett of The Airborne Toxic Event joined Bob Boilen live on YouTube for a conversation about his memoir about growing up drug rehab center-turned-cult. Now, you can hear their conversation, plus a performance of two songs, on All Songs Considered. From “Let’s Stay Together” to “Purple Rain” to “Back to Black” to “Aja”: Hear World Cafe’s playlist of the best title tracks ever laid down on wax. This week, three associates of R. Kelly were arrested and charged by New York federal authorities for attempting to harass, threaten, intimidate and bribe several of Kelly's alleged victims of sexual abuse. Tiny Desk NPR Moses Sumney’s second concert for our Tiny Desk series – this one recorded at home in North Carolina – was every bit as stunning as his first. No matter how many instruments are featured or what the arrangement sounds like, Sumney’s otherworldly vocals are always front and center. Plus: Before Víkingur Ólafsson packed his bags to return to his native Iceland, he gave one final performance at his home in Berlin for our Tiny Desk (home) concert series. Meanwhile across the Atlantic, Becca Mancari’s Tiny Desk (home) concert is one that’s both joyous and wise; recorded with her bandmates (who formed “their own little corona-pod”), it tells an abridged version of her story of coming out and discovering her own path.  ICYMI Every year, members of the NPR Music team look forward to Pop Conference, a music writing and popular music studies conference held annually at Seattle's Museum of Popular Culture. The conference is being held virtually this year, and we’ve teamed up with it for a series of hourlong, thoughtful conversations with today's most intriguing musicians called Pop Talks. Check out our Instagram for Pop Talks with Moses Sumney, Victoria Monét and Holly Herndon. One More Thing Here’s how Republicans are boosting Kanye’s 2020 chances. 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. 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