Well, it’s Friday evening, and on a night we’d usually be breaking out our dancing shoes for the club or packing our bags to head to a festival, we find ourselves at home on the computer, unable to leave the house and slightly unsure of how we’re going to pass the time this weekend.
But the world of dance music has always maintained a spirit of optimism, so even amid the global pandemic, the shows are going on, even if only online. Dozens of hours of live0-stream events from some of the world’s biggest dance festival brands and artists are happening this weekend, so whether you’re looking for mainstage vibes, club anthems or the intimacy of ambient, there’s something streaming for you. Many of them also have built-in charity components, with proceeds going to various COVID-19 relief organizations.
These are all the dance music-related live streams and online events happening this weekend.
Insomniac Events
While the Los Angeles-based dance festival company had to take their SoCal event Beyond Wonderland off the calendar this weekend because of the coronavirus, they’re staying in the rave spirit with two separate online events. The Beyond Wonderland Virtual Rave-A-Thon will broadcast from Insomniac’s YouTube page on Friday (March 20) and Saturday from 8 p.m. to midnight PT each night. The event will feature live sets by Loud Luxury, Mija, Party Favor, Saymyname and many more.
Meanwhile, Insomniac has created a new YouTube channel featuring “rewind” sets from previous Insomniac-produced events including Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas, EDC Orlando, EDC Mexico, HARD Summer and Okeechobee Festival. Insomniac Rewind will broadcast 24 hours a day on YouTube and Twitch until midnight on March 31.
Last Night, A Streaming Saved My Life
Co-hosted by The BPM Festival and Mr. Afterparty, this 24-hour live-stream marathon will feature sets from Matador, Art Department, Pan-Pot and many more. The event kicks off Saturday at 2 p.m. ET, with all money raised via the GoFundMe campaign going to organizations including the Red Cross and various coronavirus relief funds. You can tune in via the BPM Festival’s Facebook page.
Diplo’s Corona World Tour
Diplo continues his “Corona World Tour” from the comfort of his living room with his ongoing live-stream series. Friday will find him playing a Corona Sabbath set starting at 8 p.m. PT. Saturday will feature Coronanight Fever at 8 p.m. PT and Sunday will feature A Very Lazer Sunday with the music of Major Lazer starting at 1 p.m. These live streams will continue into the week with another Ronatronix event on Tuesday and the country-inspired The Thomas Wesley Show on Thursday. Events can be streamed via Diplo’s Instagram and YouTube along with Mad Decent’s Twitch page and, for the Sunday event, Major Lazer’s channels.
In an impressive move, major publishers and record labels are allowing the archived streams to live on YouTube and to be monetized by respective rights holders, with royalties being paid to all those whose music is played in the shows. Those viewing on the Mad Decent Twitch page will be able to donate to the PLUS1 COVID-19 Relief Fund.
Myd
Ed Banger Brethren Myd is doing a live stream every morning at 8:30 a.m. Paris time from the Ed Banger YouTube channel. Given that this is 12:30 a.m. in Los Angeles and 3:30 a.m. in New York, our fingers are crossed that he plays sets that are either mega ravey or super sleepy.
Ultra’s Virtual Audio Festival
From Friday through Sunday, those with SiriusXM radio can tune into Ultra’s Virtual Audio Festival, the replacement for the EDM mega-fest that was supposed to take place this weekend in Miami. The broadcast will feature DJ sets from a slew of artists originally scheduled to perform at the festival, including Armin van Buuren, Martin Garrix, Above & Beyond, Major Lazer, Lost Frequencies, Oliver Heldens, Nicky Romero and more. The channel will also includes sets from past incarnations of the festival. Those without a Sirius subscription can grab a free trial here.
Destructo’s Sunrise Sermon
Gary Richards, President of LiveStyle North America, the founder of HARD Events and the current captain of the All My Friends cruise and AMF music festival will go hard from his living room for one of his legendary Sunrise Sermon sets. Streaming on Twitch and Facebook, the event launches at the very ambitious hour of 5:50 a.m., so set your alarms.
