coronavirus
Songs for a New World, The Other Palace Digital review - chimes with our extraordinary 'moment'Saturday, 25 July 2020
We’ve already had The Last Five Years in lockdown; now, we get a digital production of American composer Jason Robert Brown’s earliest work. A series of wistful pop/jazz numbers loosely linked thematically, rather than narratively, this 1995... Read more... |
New Music Unlocked 2: Nick Cave, Tomorrowland, The Prodigy, The Clangers and moreWednesday, 22 July 2020
Everyone keeps upping their game with what and how they’re presenting music in these unwelcome times, and this week sees a red hot selection on offer. Below is a cross section of the best that’s out there to see, hear and get involved... Read more... |
New Music Unlocked 1: Reef, Supersonic Festival, Elton John and moreWednesday, 15 July 2020
The lockdown which began in March is now noticeably easing, although in the realm of gigs and festivals things are still nowhere near operative. Nonetheless, theartsdesk is responding to the changes by ceasing our many weeks of New Music Lockdown... Read more... |
The Choir: Singing for Britain Finale, BBC Two review - stirring songs from a garden shedWednesday, 08 July 2020
Once again the incredible healing powers of Gareth Malone swung into action, as his quest to find a universal anthem for the Covid crisis boiled up to a climax (BBC Two). Considering that he’s been masterminding his Home Choir and his songwriting... Read more... |
Glastonbury Festival 2020: Beyoncé, Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E., marijuana and time travelWednesday, 01 July 2020
Coronavirus blah blah blah. Glastonbury cancelled. What to do? Didn’t go to the 2010 festival for reasons too tedious to go into. Suffered the worst FOMO of my life. This is different. There is no Glastonbury. But sitting around at home… we’ve all... Read more... |
The Choir: Singing for Britain, BBC Two review - the pandemic versus the power of songWednesday, 24 June 2020
Singing in a choir can be terrific therapy for anxiety, depression or loneliness, but one of the cruellest effects of the coronavirus is the way it has restricted normal human interaction. The notion of social distancing might have been designed to... Read more... |
New Music Lockdown 11: Make Music Day, Greenpeace Festival, Tiny Changes, Kasabian and moreWednesday, 17 June 2020
The lockdown may be loosening but we’re no nearer to gigs and festivals occurring so, for the foreseeable, online is where it’s at. Here, then, is the latest selection of musical happenings that you can wrap your eyes and ears around during the... Read more... |
New Music Lockdown 10: Download Festival, Isle of Wight Festival, Gorillaz and a 48 Hour EDM RaveWednesday, 10 June 2020
With festival season upon us but rendered null and void by COVID-19, green field events are looking for ways to present themselves and, this week, in different ways, a couple are doing just that. Also there’s new material from Gorillaz and a virtual... Read more... |
New Music Lockdown 9: Chic, Laura Marling, Billy Bragg, Steel Panther, Wendy James and moreWednesday, 03 June 2020
For better or worse, the lockdown may be easing in the UK but there’s no sign of any gig action, even on the far distant horizon. So it’s back to our screens for all that, and here’s the latest, liveliest selection of concerts, conversations and... Read more... |
New Music Lockdown 8: Take That, Moby, Kaiser Chiefs, Róisín Murphy and moreWednesday, 27 May 2020
From the biggest man band of all time to a rising Doncaster DJ, from the lofts of New York to the garage studios rooms of Scotland, the best of current musical lockdown life is here. Dive in!Take That/Robbie Williams: Meerkat Music ConcertThe big... Read more... |
Unprecedented, BBC Four review - perspectives on the pandemicWednesday, 27 May 2020
This short series of new dramas (on BBC Four) by a group of leading playwrights was commissioned by Headlong and Century Films, a week before the virus lockdown was announced on 23 March, and represents an artistic first response to a situation... Read more... |
John Grisham: Camino Winds review - morality tale with a light touchSunday, 24 May 2020
John Grisham is a brand, in the sense that the reader relies on some sense of what the product is going to be. He is well up in the millions of sales, along with other writers under the “thriller/mystery” umbrella – Michael Connelly, David Baldacci... Read more... |
