Musicians around the globe are sharing their music online during the coronavirus pandemic, and Thursday evening, local musician Jackson Emmer adds his voice. It’s a part of a series of virtual concerts he’s calling “Quarantunes,” meant to raise awareness and funds for performers who are struggling since venues were shut down and tours cancelled.
Emmer offers tips for those who want to support live performers during the time of social distancing. He says to go online and buy merchandise. If you’re watching live performances online, tip the musician and share their feed on your own social media pages. He also encourages people to donate to organizations like Musicares, which has started a COVID-19 relief fund for musicians. That’s where Emmer donates the money he raises with his Quarantunes shows.
Jackson Emmer’s third Quarantunes concert begins at 5:45 p.m. Thursday evening. Arts and culture reporter Christin Kay spoke with him about what local musicians are facing right now, and what it’s like to make the shift to playing for a virtual audience.
All of these musicians' income streams basically vanished overnight.
Christin Kay: So what's the form that Quarantunes takes, and what inspired you to get started?
Jackson Emmer: Well, I started Quarantunes three weeks ago. I jumped on it after I saw a lot of musicians who were put out of work by the COVID pandemic. They were just sort of in a panic trying to find something to do and some way to bring in real change. So musicians started performing on Facebook Live and asking for tips.
I feel really grateful that I'm not living gig-to-gig right now. So I felt like, well, I shouldn't jump into that world. I should let those people sort of do their thing. But then I thought, well, I should actually jump in and try to help other people. So I started my own series and every week the donations go directly to organizations that support musicians or other people who are hit really hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
CK: What's the need for this right now? What are you hearing from local musicians about what life is like?
JE: If you look at it locally, ski season is over, which is when musicians get to play and earn a little bit around here. Also, you're limited in gatherings to 10 or less, I guess at this point, so you can't even throw your own concert. Then, musicians who are performing will often teach, and now they're limited to teaching online because people are nervous about meeting up face-to-face. So all of these musicians’ income streams basically vanished overnight.
That's true locally, but it's also true nationally. Tours and shows are planned months in advance, I mean three to 12 months in advance, and things are so uncertain right now, and live performance is the main income stream for musicians now.
CK: How do you make the shift to planning a show online, like the Quarantunes series, instead of to a live audience during this time?
JE: Personally, I just try to share a part of myself each time. Everybody's feeling a swirl of emotion, a little bit of hopelessness, a lot of fatigue, a lot of uncertainty, but also at the same time, this well of hope swirls up. And you think about how many times people have defeated pandemics before and how great it is that we're all coming together even though we're apart.
So I just let those things inside of myself show through and try not to pretend. You know, I'm not really putting on a show. I'm just showing myself.
