Though the Fourth of July weekend is over, there’s still plenty to celebrate as musicians get ready for their livestream sets this week.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage around in the United States, leading to a slowing of re-openings — and in some cases, renewed shutdowns — musicians are continuing to connect with their fans from a safe distance via livestream performances.
Below, check out the livestreams you can enjoy from your couch this week. We’ll update this list as more events are announced.
July 6: To coincide with The Dalai Lama’s new album Inner World, an 85th Birthday Celebration for The Dalai Lama will be streamed. The dedication will be live-streamed twice, at 9:00 a.m. IST (Delhi) and 1:00 p.m. ET (New York), and will be streamed on both the Inner World YouTube channel and Facebook page. The program will include longtime student and friend of The Dalai Lama, Richard Gere as well as other special guests, birthday messages, and musical performances, including one by Anoushka Shankar, who will debut a performance of Ama La, the track from the album that she features on.
July 7: Ringo Starr will celebrate his 80th birthday with a livestream on YouTube at 8:00 p.m. ET, with Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh, Ben Harper, Sheryl Crow, Gary Clark Jr., Sheila E., and more.
July 9: Kamala Harris will present a “dance party and conversation with our nation’s top DJs” to benefit Joe Biden’s presidential campaign at 7:00 p.m. ET, featuring Beverly Bond, Diplo, DJ Cassidy, D-Nice, Hannah Bronfman, and Jermaine Dupri. Donate to the campaign to watch.
Tom Morello, Shea Diamond, Dan Reynolds and The Bloody Beetroots — who recently teamed up for the song “Stand Up” — will have a livestream discussion at 3:00 p.m. ET. As Morello promises, “We’re going to take you deep into the inspiration, collaboration, and creation of the mighty ‘STAND UP’ and talk about the incredible work that the @naacp @yourrightscamp @splcenter and @mpjinstitute – who we are proud to be donating 100% of our artist proceeds to – are doing to combat racism, injustice and police brutality. We will also be doing a fan Q&A so we need YOU to leave your best thought-provoking questions for any and all of us right here in the comments. We’ll pick some of the best ones to answer during the show.” Fans can tune in on each artist’s Facebook page and Morello’s YouTube channel to watch.
July 10-12: Kyle Gass of Tenacious D, Rashaan Ahmad, Eion Harrington, Mark Charles Hediger and many others are performing for the fourth annual Rootstock. The event, which is being held digitally for the first time this year, begins streaming at 6 p.m. ET Friday. Passes are available at RootstockMusic.com.
July 11-12: Sofi Tukker, Anabel Englund, Autograf, Goldfish, Loud Luxury and many more are performing as part of RETROSPEKT, a two-day multi-genre music event streaming on YouTube and Twitch. The event is free, though fans are encouraged to donate $20. Proceeds benefit To Write Love on Her Arms and MusiCares. The event begins at 3 p.m. ET Saturday, and 2 p.m. ET Sunday. Visit Retrospektfest.com to RSVP and/or donate.