Your guide to the best livestreamed gigs and virtual events
The only place you can see live music, theatre and comedy these days is right in your own home. Here’s our guide to the best concerts and events being livestreamed this weekend.
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Virtual concerts are the new physical concerts for now. Here we round up the best livestreamed music, comedy, theatre and other virtual entertainment for you to watch safely from home
FRIDAY
MAYEIGHT FESTIVAL
Where: Movember Australia Facebook page
Friday from 7am
This free 12 hour Facebook live stream is a virtual festival from men’s health charity Movember. Mayeight will feature The Aston Shuffle, Bag Raiders, Set Mo, Hockey Dad and Close Counters, comedians Sam Simmons, Harley Breen and Michael Shafar and also fitness, yoga and meditation sessions. Alex Dyson will take part in a Zoomba fitness session, cabaret star Tea With Dolly will interview Rhonda Burchmore, Alan Fletcher and Cameron Daddo and your hosts are Adam & Symon (ex Gogglebox) and the Hit Network’s Tom & Olly.
DOLLY PARTON
Where: Dolly Parton’s You Tube channel
Friday at 9am
Each week Dolly is reading books on You Tube as part of her Imagination Library series launched to help get you through isolation. They go live at 9am AEST time, but they’re helpfully all on her You Tube channel. If you’re a Dolly fan, check out the Podcast Dolly Parton’s America immediately.
HOMESCHOOL FEST
Where: homeschoolfest.com
Friday 6pm onwards
This UK event runs all weekend and features a string of indie bands like Love Fame Tragedy (aka Matty from the Wombats) but also some local acts are taking part including Gordi, Bad//Dreems and Lime Cordiale. Money raised goes to NHS charities.
PENINSULA PUB
Where: Peninsula Virtual Pub on Facebook, or peninsulapub.org
Fridays from 7.30pm
Missing hanging out at the pub? Do it virtually. Peninsula Virtual Pub is replicating the pub experience at home with a Social Isolation Bar. There’s pub trivia (this week it’s a movie theme), you can hold private birthday parties and join and interact with people on line or simply watch it all unfold. Plus there's live music each Friday, this week Seb Szabo and Taylah Carroll perform.
KATE CEBERANO
Where: kateceberano.com
Fridays at 8pm
National treasure Kate Ceberano is in week five of live streamed gigs, bringing selected friends safely into her house and inviting others to join her on camera. This week she’ll feature Katie Noonan, Rick Price, Brian Cadd and David Campbell as well as musicians Jimi Hocking and Ross Irwin (The Cat Empire). All previous episodes are archived on Ceberano’s website – including Richard Wilkins singing and playing violin.
TRIVIA AND COOKING
Where: cooperslocal.com.au
Fridays at 8pm
Chef Shannon Bennett cooks BBQ jerk chicken with Jimi from Quiz Meisters taking care of interactive pub trivia.
SATURDAY
ISOL-AID
Where: Isol-Aid on Instagram
Saturday and Sunday from midday to midnight
It’s week eight of Isol-Aid so you should know the deal by now. Australian (and occasionally international) acts do 20 minute sets on their own individual Instagram live accounts, and you leapfrog from one to the next. Check out Isol-Aid on Instagram or Facebook for the full line-up, which drop each Friday at midday.
THE STATE OF MUSIC
Where: Victoria Together website, You Tube and Facebook page
Saturday, 6.30pm
New night this week and new theme – Mother’s Day. It’s an all-female line-up with Kate Miller-Heidke, Mahalia Barnes and daughter Ruby, Missy Higgins, Mia Wray, Montaigne and Vera Blue and hosts Carrie Bickmore and Jane Gazzo.
JOHN COURSE
Where: John Course’s Facebook, You Tube and Twitch accounts
Saturdays from 7pm
House at your house. Each Saturday night Melbourne DJ John Course is playing old school house classics online – he even takes requests. It’s your chance to turn your loungeroom into a nightclub, and he’s started having guests – this week it’s DJ Andy Murphy joining him.
DELIVERED LIVE
Where: deliveredlive.com.au
When: Saturdays, 7.30pm
Episode six of this live variety show, which is professionally filmed and hosted by Henry Wagons. Entertainment this week comes from Deborah Conway and Willy Zygier, Alex the Astronaut and Bendigo performer Yergurl. Comedy via Sami Shah and Denise Scott, while Myf Warhurst will join in a panel discussion. Feel free to donate to the artists.
PIANO BAR GEELONG
Where: Piano Bar Facebook page
When: nightly 7.30pm
Geelong’s Piano Bar have fully embraced the virtual world and have live-streams each night at 7.30pm, with everything from Got Talent nights to drag shows. Tune in this Saturday for Andy Pobjoy and Joss Russell playing your party tunes by request.
THE LIVING END
Where: cooperslocal.com.au
Saturday at 8pm
Chart topping rock trio The Living End are back in action, virtually, after frontman Chris Cheney is out of isolation after returning from the USA. They’ll play live from Byron Bay for Coopers Live, Loud and Local with hosts Joel Creasey and Myf Warhurst.
SUNDAY
MARLON WILLIAMS
Where: Marlon Williams’ You Tube and Facebook pages
Sunday from 10am
Kiwi artist Marlon Williams is launching his full concert Live at Auckland Town Hall, filmed last year, on his social media this Sunday morning. Log on from 11.30am where he’ll do a live Q&A session with fans.
DAVE GLEESON
Where: DaveGleesonSinger on Facebook
Sundays 3.30pm
Dave Gleeson, and Adelaide muso Crafty, are playing Screaming Jets and Angels tunes, plus rock and country covers, each Sunday arvo as part of his Streaming Not Screaming sessions.
LEADING LADIES OF AUSTRALIAN MUSIC THEATRE
Where: Memomusichall.com.au
Sunday 7.30pm
Cost: $15
Memo Music Hall in St Kilda are pioneering paid live stream concerts, which help put money back into the pockets of the decimated music industry. Filmed by the team behind RockWiz, they’ve so far streamed Kate Ceberano, Renee Geyer and Joe Camilleri. For Mother’s Day, they are hosting the leading ladies of Australian music theatre – Rhonda Burchmore (Mamma Mia, Mame), Alinta Chidzey (Chicago, West Side Story), Lucy Durack (Wicked, Shrek), Amanda Harrison (Wicked, We Will Rock You), and Queenie van de Zandt (Funny Girl, Thoroughly Modern Millie) playing songs from stage and screen.
MONDAY
SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR
Where: Sophie Ellis-Bextor on Facebook
Mondays at 3am
Luckily these are saved on Facebook if you’re not up at the wee hours. The British singer is doing a home disco each week, tweaking her own hits such as Murder on the Dancefloor, Take Me Home, Groovejet and Mixed Up World to have COVID lyrics and doing karaoke covers. There’s now an afterparty as well, and her five kids are dancing in the background for extra iso-joy.
BOB SINCLAR
Where: Bobsinclar on Instagram
Every night at 10pm (AEST)
The French DJ is going live on Instagram every night – he even did a set this week from the top of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris which is worth tracking down – but they’re usually from his house.
Send any upcoming listings to cameron.adams@news.com.au