As the world self-isolates, musicians turn to live streaming

As guidelines on social gatherings continue to change, Australian musicians swap stadiums for their living rooms

Look, Ma, no bands ... singer-songwriter Steve Kilbey (of the Church) at his home at Coogee in Sydney's east. Pictue: John Feder

As guidelines on the size of sensible social gatherings continue to shrink from stadiums to lounge rooms, plenty of musicians have begun using this unique moment in history to connect with their fans via social media. With tours sadly cancelled far into the distance and many planned album releases being shifted back in the schedule, a gaping hole has opened in many artistic lives. This naturally comes with plenty of uncertainty and anxiety for the future but, among the musicians I follow online, it has also resulted in some novel diversions into showing sides of themselves that would ordinarily be hidden among the usual cycle of promoting upcoming gigs, music videos and new recordings.

This week, I’ve watched as Australian singer-songwriter Tina Arena has renamed herself “Quaran-tina” while regularly live-streaming from her couch. I’ve watched The Church frontman Steve Kilbey smoke a joint before performing an acoustic concert from his Coogee apartment, where he happily took requests and chatted with about 700 fans on Instagram for the love of music, as well as requesting PayPal donations from those able to afford it.

From the US – where about 40 million California residents have been told to stay at home until further notice – I’ve watched as Josh Homme, leader of rock band Queens of the Stone Age, played a tiny drum kit in his living room while his children roasted smores in the fireplace. I’ve watched as country musician Keith Urban jumped into playing solo “Urban underground” gigs from both warehouse and studio, with wife Nicole Kidman on back-up vocals and dancing. And I’ve enjoyed watching singer, songwriter and pianist Rufus Wainwright begin a daily extension of his “robe recitals” series, filmed each morning at his Hollywood home, where he has given himself the challenge of performing one song a day until the isolation ends.

There are a great many things to be concerned about at this moment, but one of them does not appear to be a shortage of entertainment. As ever, this page has the chief function of recommending great music to please your ears; our two weekly Spotify playlists – both included on this page in print, and embedded in the web version of the album reviews – offer around 90 minutes of material. This week, though, I’ve enjoyed revisiting a particularly topical Crowded House song named Isolation, which appeared in the middle of the band’s sixth album, Intriguer. Released in 2010, the track fairly crackles with energy, mystery and romance: “Yes, there’s always a way / To end this isolation,” sings Neil Finn. In its final minute, the band changes gear entirely and the song blooms with joyful release. One day, we will, too.