Virtual DJ sets and concerts have taken off over the last couple of months as a way to cheer people up and add some value to the stay-at-home situation. Because so many much-anticipated music events have been cancelled, it’s great to see forward-thinking brands and musicians finding ways to reach their respective audiences and keep the mood positive.  

One of these brands is Party Hard Travel, a specialist tour operator providing package holidays across Europe’s popular party locations. The company brought together a number of performers to create a virtual DJ set, with the aim of raising money for the NHS. The event was live streamed on social media with a number of raffles taking place throughout, raising over £2,200 for the cause.  

As well as this, Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody has taken to Instagram Live every Saturday to host ‘Saturday songwriting sessions,’ where he works in collaboration with his fans to create a new song. Bringing their audience in on their song writing has demonstrated the band’s appreciation of its fans, and they’re even going so far as to release an EP next month titled ‘The Fireside Sessions,’ consisting of five songs created during the sessions. This kind of creative use of the technology has been amazing and incredibly exciting to see. 

There are plenty of other musicians who have also taken to live streaming lately. Chris Martin from Coldplay, Keith Urban and John Legend have all taken to Instagram, YouTube and other platforms to perform what might be called ‘public service concerts,’ all with the aim of bringing music into people’s homes for free while also spreading important messages. Because so many A-list performers have had to cancel their summer tours, it’s possible that we might see more of this kind of performing as the situation progresses; no one is yet clear on how to host a socially-distanced event, but it’s apparent that for now, there are ways we can use technology to stay connected.