In the short time it has taken for the world to shutdown, the arts community has just as quickly turned to the internet to spread joy and hope, while at the same time trying to find a way to survive. The Isol-Aid online Instagram Music Festival, which first captured our hearts on March 20 & 21 reappeared a week later (March 28 & 29), this time with some even bigger indie music names on the bill such as Courtney Barnett, Kingswood, Sarah Blasko, Josh Pyke, Marlon Williams and many more.
While Isol-Aid is available to the millions of people in the world who use the Instagram app, it’s actually quite an intimate experience, bringing fans into the homes of the artists who they have always enjoyed from afar. The comments which constantly flow as each artists perform are proof that Isol-Aid has made a global connection. Also what’s been interesting to note is that much like the American TV talk shows which are now broadcasting from their host’s homes, fans are noticing the everyday items that appear in the background of the videos, such as the plants or paintings and photos. There’s a sense of relatable normality about the live streams, albeit in such a bizarre, abnormal situation. To watch Isol-Aid and see a child creep into frame while Freya Josephine Hollick performs or Batts performing in front of her pet gecko named Ringo, adds a human element that we all need right now. The ‘bug’ is proving to be the great leveler. Some of the world’s biggest music names are now competing for your social media attention under the same conditions as every other artist in the world. Artists like Pink, Sheryl Crow and Coldplay’s Chris Martin are streaming from their homes with just piano or guitar and their voice, no big production to lean on and we’re checking out their plants the same as everyone else.
Congratulations to local music industry legends Merpire (Rhiannon/ Small Time Group), festival organiser and performer Emily Ulman (Brunswick Music Festival/Small Time Group) and Shannen Egan (Turning Heads Agency) on creating such an innovative, all-inclusive global event. Their aim was simply to raise funds for music industry charity group Support Act, give the artists some exposure and offer the chance to sell some product, but what they’ve done is much, much more.
Here’s a glimpse of some of the wonderful performances from Isol-Aid #2, which occured March 28 & 29.
