{"id":11805,"date":"2020-06-11T11:06:47","date_gmt":"2020-06-11T16:06:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/?p=11805"},"modified":"2026-05-06T15:41:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T20:41:29","slug":"live-music-in-a-socially-isolated-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/2020\/06\/11\/live-music-in-a-socially-isolated-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Live Music in a Socially Isolated World"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

by Ryan Haughey<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In these ever-uncertain times of isolation, musicians and artists are taking a big hit. Due to the kiboshing of social gathering, live shows and yearly festivals are being cancelled left and right, and we are all itching to experience music as a community once again. From shows at the Handsome Daughter to jam nights at the Times Changed, our community is struggling to feel the togetherness that live music brings to our city.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Almost daily I see artists pouring their hearts out during performances on videos or livestreams just for the sake of performing. Performing onstage in front of a group of people \u2013 no matter how many \u2013 is a shot of adrenaline, and quarantine has taken that away from the local music scene. However, these livestreams aren\u2019t all so bad a replacement for live performances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winnipeg loop pedal artist and recipient of WCMA 2019 Francophone Artist of the Year, Rayannah was directly affected right at the beginning of quarantine, as she was forced to cancel her planned tour. Rayannah says that livestreaming comes with its fair share of pros and cons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe various livestream series\u2019 put in place to provide artist fees for performers were a swift and important response to the current crisis. That being said, there\u2019s a concurring pressure to be present online and perform for free,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s a challenge given the fact that our livelihoods have been affected so profoundly. Many share the concern that our audiences could get used to accessing concerts free of charge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also says that the flip side to that is the push to support artists financially without the assistance of live, in-person concerts by buying music and merch. \u201cAnother positive piece to all this is that concerts have been made accessible to people who may not have been able to enjoy them in the past whether because of inaccessible spaces, scheduling conflicts and obligations, or financial barriers,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere can be something lovely about the raw and casual nature of livestreams,\u201d Rayannah states. \u201cThey can be vulnerable and touching, and show us a different side of the artists we know and love. They can also create a sense of community among the people watching, and that\u2019s a precious thing especially now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Rayannah is right. The sense of togetherness that we all crave can be felt by creating a space for a community to occupy. Isolation can be hard on many, and local groovy musician and songwriter Jeremy Haywood (known commonly as Jaywood) offers some great tips for artists nurturing creativity in isolation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d say you just got to know when to give yourself breaks to let your imagination play,\u201d he says. \u201cRather than working on something brand new, go back and work on some smaller ideas. Do some covers and give yourself a win when recording and writing, it\u2019ll help gas you up!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jaywood also recommends making other creative output, like music videos, interviews, podcasts, etcetera. He says that this is a good time to share yourself with people, to show them who you are. \u201cIt\u2019s been so great to see some artists not even skip a beat!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jaywood admits to having a few troubles with livestreaming, but he\u2019s glad that it\u2019s formed a way for people to interact during this time and experience music. \u201cI wish there was a way you could see the people you\u2019re performing to, that way you can kind of get that in-the-same-room feeling,\u201d he says. \u201cAll in all, I think (livestreaming) is great, I look forward to the next innovative ways of staying in touch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rayannah says that more and more people are moving toward pre-recorded performances. \u201cIt creates a better work environment for us as performers \u2013 we don\u2019t have to worry about the feed glitching or cutting out while we play \u2013 and dramatically increases both the video and audio quality of what we\u2019re putting out,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also says that it\u2019s entirely fair for musicians and artists to take a break from trying to market themselves and their music. \u201cIf people are finding ways to work online that feel good and resonate with them, that\u2019s great!\u201d she says. \u201cHowever, I think it\u2019s also okay to focus inwards, to deal with the tasks that have been on the backburner, rest and take in what has happened.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rayannah says that she\u2019s trying not to set expectations for the future, and instead trying to focus on the things she can do now. \u201cWhatever shape live music takes moving forward, I know that the work I\u2019m currently doing will put me in a better place to make things work down the line.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jaywood predicts that the concept of social-distancing, isolation, and situations around the world are going to be the birth of a lot of new music from both established and non-established artists, \u201cwhich means that when things finally get going again it might feel a little more \u2018competitive\u2019 but the best thing we can all do is just support one another and not get caught up in the hustle of it all,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMe personally, I\u2019m kind of stoked to not be performing right now! This has given me som time to focus on some other creative projects I\u2019ve been really wanting to do and haven\u2019t really had time for. I hope that creative folks use this time to get organized, maybe make some vague plans and ideas but ultimately just chill out. No one is upping anyone right now, we\u2019re all in this situation together, so we\u2019ve got to support one another and be cool, be respectful, and be human beings to one another.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Ryan Haughey In these ever-uncertain times of isolation, musicians and artists are taking a big hit. Due to the kiboshing of social gathering, live shows and yearly festivals are being cancelled left and right, and we are all itching to experience music as a community once again. From shows at the Handsome Daughter to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1739],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","category-interview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11805"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11805\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11807,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11805\/revisions\/11807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}