Now that bars and other music venues are closed down due to COVID-19, local musicians have had to take their live shows online, and many have opted to do regular live streams for their fans.
Take local singer-songwriter Dustin Tessier, who records and performs under the name Timbre Ghost. He was scheduled to have a show at the Aster Cafe in Minneapolis this weekend, but instead, he’s planning to stream a set on his Facebook and Instagram pages.
Still others, like filmmaker and musician Cy Dodson, are using live streams not just to peform, but to experiment and learn new instruments — in his case, the ukulele.
Sometimes, it’s a case of making the best of what they have available to them. Twin Cities country artist Sarah Morris has seen her social media following grow over the last few years, and she also happens to live in a home with a big green bathroom. Now, she uses it as the setting for videos to help promote other artists' upcoming appearances, including Tessier’s. She calls the bit "Toilet Tunes."
Minneapolis Star Tribune music writer and critic Chris Riemenschneider is tuned in to how these artists are pretty much having to reinvent themselves via livestream these days and recently wrote a guide to local live stream shows.
“They're people making the best of this bad situation. And, you know, I think these artists are having fun with it. And I think they're fun to watch. So it's been really cool,” he said.