As music lovers and wanderlust enthusiasts, our vision for GigsGuide was to create a platform that harmoniously blends the love for music with the spirit of travel.

Just like the rest of the live music and travel sectors, the pandemic hit us pretty hard right in the face. While we did manage to keep the site running by becoming one of the top directories for live streaming events, the "shell shock" we (and the rest of the live music industry) suffered forced us to put things on life support for a while.

In recent months, however, we have finally had a chance to come up for air and clear off some of the dust that had been gathering on our servers over the last couple of years.

Today, we're excited to share some of the latest updates and enhancements to the GigsGuide experience with you – our valued community of globetrotting music aficionados.

What's been cooking in the GigsGuide kitchen

• A broader, cleaner Live Event Database
  A lot of our recent effort has been focused on improving the quality of the data in our events database and on adding an even more diverse range of live music events. Whether you're into indie rock, soothing jazz, or high-energy electronic music, our platform now covers an extensive variety of genres and artists. This means more choices, more adventures, and more unforgettable musical experiences.
• Revamped User Experience
  Understanding that a seamless experience is key to your enjoyment, we've squashed bugs and streamlined navigation. The website now boasts faster load times, smoother transitions, and an intuitive interface, ensuring you spend less time planning and more time enjoying the music.
• Compatibility Match Indicator
  One of our most exciting features is the 'Compatibility Match' indicator on artists' profiles. This innovative tool analyzes your musical preferences, based on the artists you follow, to show how closely other artists you might not know from before match your taste. It's like having a personalized music concierge, ensuring that no matter where your travels take you, you can easily discover artists and gigs that resonate with your unique style.

• Chrome Extension for Booking.com
  Our new Chrome extension is a game-changer for travel-savvy music lovers. Once installed, the extension sits quietly in the background, waiting... When you search for trips on Booking.com, the extension comes to life and automatically displays live music events at your destination for the dates of your trip... It's magical! This integration means you can effortlessly plan your travel and music itinerary in tandem, making every trip a perfectly tuned musical journey.

A Quick Recap of All The Cool Things You Can Do With GigsGuide

I also want to take the occasion of this post to quickly revisit some of the core features that have made GigsGuide a go-to destination for music and travel enthusiasts:

• Global Music Events Database
  Dive into our expansive collection of live music events worldwide. From intimate local gigs to major international festivals, our platform is your passport to the world of live music.
• One-Stop Travel Planning
  Say goodbye to the hassle of toggling between multiple tabs. GigsGuide brings together the most convenient flights, the coolest accommodations, and all the live gig details you need, all in one place.
• Artist Profiles with Detailed Information
  Our artist profiles are a treasure trove of information, helping you navigate the live music offering of unfamiliar location and maybe discover a new artist to bring home as a new favourite from your trip (the best kind of souvenir, if you ask me :)). With genre classifications, links to Spotify, YouTube, and social media accounts, you get a comprehensive understanding of the artists performing, so you can easily identify the ones you are more likely to enjoy. Direct ticketing links and venue directions are also readily available.
• Personalized Musical Matches
  Create your user account and add all your favourite artists to get tailored gig suggestions with artists similar to the ones you already like. Our clever compatibility scoring helps you navigate through the musical offerings of your destination, ensuring that each gig you attend is a match made in musical heaven.
• Innovative Chrome Extension
  Our Chrome extension is not just a feature – it's your new travel buddy. It intuitively suggests live music events based on your Booking.com searches, integrating your travel and music experiences seamlessly even when the urge to travel takes hold of you so quickly that you don't have time to come to our site to search.

Don't Stop Me Now: What's Next for GigsGuide

The journey doesn't stop here. Our roadmap includes exciting features and partnerships that will further enrich your music and travel experiences. Stay tuned for updates on new functionalities that will make discovering and enjoying live music an even more integral part of your travels.

We'd love to hear your feedback on the new features, and in particular on the Chrome Extension. We are also looking at expanding its coverage to other sites like Hotels.com - so it would be great to hear which are your favourites that we should add next!

GigsGuide stands at the intersection of music and travel, offering a unique platform that caters to your passion for both. These latest updates are a testament to our commitment to providing you with an unmatched experience.

We believe that every journey should have a soundtrack, and with GigsGuide, the perfect melody is just a click away.

If you have visited GigsGuide in the last couple of weeks, you might have notices a few changes.

The layout of many pages has changed a bit (hopefully, for the better :)), and the loading time has gone down significantly. We have also added the possibility to register/login with Google and Facebook (you can still use Spotify or email, like in the old version).

What you are seeing, is the result of many months of hard work where we have basically rebuilt the whole website* pretty much from scratch.

2 weeks ago, we quietly "flipped the switch"... and then I went on holiday :D. It all seems to work quite well, though, so we thought this might be a good time to officially tell the world about it.

There are a few functions that used to be in the old site (like flight/train search) that have not been migrated yet. We'll add them back soon, together with a number of other cool features we have been working on. So go check the new site out, let us know what you think and make sure to tell all your friends about it!

After the last extremely challenging 18 months (for us just like everybody else, and for artists and culture workers in particular), we are not in the mood for celebration. We are, however, proud of this milestone we have managed to reach in spite of all the adversities.

All we wish for now is to finally be able to go back to helping music lovers get out on the road and start discovering again all the wonderful live music that has been quiet for way too long now.

No matter how cold the winter,
there's a springtime ahead.

Pearl Jam - Thumbing My Way

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* For the geeks among you, we moved the website engine from "pure" React to NextJS, using Tailwind CSS to make it look nice. We have also moved the website's backend from MongoDB to PostgreSQL and we are now using Hasura to fetch data and do a lot of cool funky stuff with GraphQL.

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Photo by Robin Mathlener on Unsplash

World-leading "travel for live music" service GigsGuide is happy to announce that it is pivoting its business in a new direction and will soon be rebranding as Stripadvisor.

We started GigsGuide to make it easier for people to travel the world and discover the local live music scene of the destinations they visit. We thought it would be a great way to inspire a more respectful way to travel, create real value for our local communities and inspire new human connections through music.

In a hindsight, that was a pretty dumb idea.

A year of pandemic has clearly demonstrated how little our society, and particularly our politicians and decision makers, care for musicians, culture workers, independent venues and culture in general.

We put the "Silicon" in Valley

After an extensive design sprint with a very expensive boutique consulting firm, we finally realized one thing: the world is run by middle-aged white men and bros in Patagonia vests, and the only way to succeed in life is to put their interests first and build something THEY will love. And what better way to make these guys happy than helping them find the best titty bars wherever they go?

In a heated discussion on Clubhouse, some of the world's top VCs were bullish about the prospect that Stripadvisor might soon be offering the possibility of getting the stripper of your choice delivered to your door in 15 minutes or less. According to a guy called Dave, "It is going to be a Unicorn so big, you can pole dance on it!"

The switch from GigsGuide to Stripadvisor has already received an incredible amount of praise from the political elites. Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio "bunga bunga" Berlusconi and Former US President Donald "grab 'em by the pussy" Trump are among the world leaders that have sent their congratulations and support for the long overdue change of strategy.

Join our exclusive NFT Auction!

Stripadvisor is also extremely excited to announce a new appointment to its Board of Directors.

Inspired by Prince Harry’s recent employment in an overfunded Silicon Valley startup, his uncle Prince Andrew decided to invest in Stripadvisor. To fund the continued development of the service - and support the mandatory lavish lifestyle of the executive team - Prince Andrew has announced he will auction the NFT of his famous TV interview to the highest bidder (it will probably be Elon Musk).

No, we are not rebranding (although the new tagline is admittedly quite catchy). No, we are not shifting to other types of "entertainment discovery" services.

It was clearly just a poor attempt at an April Fool's joke.

What is not a joke, though, is how little support culture and live music have received in the last year, and the total lack of interest from our governments and local decision makers to make sure there will be culture and live music also at the end of this terrible tunnel.

To be very honest, rather than "helping them find titties", we’d love to give them all a solid kick in the nuts!

In the past weeks, over 100 pan-European networks have been calling for the inclusion of Culture in each and every National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), with 2% (at the very least) of the RRF envelope to be earmarked for culture.

We think that is the very least the EU Commission and our National governments can do, what do you think?

Header photo by Eric Nopanen, fish photo by Kiril Aglichev

Many years ago, one of my favourite Italian bands* wrote a song entitled "Lo Sciopero del Sole", which can be roughly translated as "the Sun goes on strike".

One day the Sun, tired of constantly being taken for granted, mistreated and neglected, decides to go on strike and stops shining.

Only too late do the people realize that with the sun now gone, they are no longer able to get a nice tan and enjoy their summers by the seaside. But by then it is too late: there is no amount of money nor desperate pleading that can get the sun to reconsider its decision.

While the original spirit of the song was distinctively "environmentalist", it is also a strong memento of how we often do not fully appreciate the things we have until they are gone for good.

The allegory it paints has often come to my mind in the past months as I witnessed the hardships that culture workers - and the live sector, in particular - have had to endure throughout this pandemic.

Covid is not killing Culture. Poor political leadership is.

Admittedly, Culture was far from being the only sector affected by lockdowns and paying a heavy price in terms of lost revenue and jobs.

Culture workers were, however, the only ones actively invited by politicians "to get a real job". Highly skilled professionals, artists, musicians, technicians, crew members, many with years of training and experience, treated like lazy teenagers reluctant to grew up.

In the UK, the same politicians that were ready to leave the Brexit negotiations over a couple of shrimps, could not be arsed to find a solution to let artists tour in Europe without the need for complicated and expensive visas.

In Sweden - where I am based - one of the most embarrassingly incompetent governments this country has ever seen has spent the last 12 months mostly hoping things will work out on their own, eventually.

In a time where the entire economy needed swift and decisive action and immediate support, the government did very little to facilitate access to unemployment benefits and special funding for small businesses and freelancers - many of them culture workers. Also in this case, the not-so-subtle underlying message was the same: "get a real job!"

Complicated application processes and extremely long assessment and pay-out times are a clear witness of the priorities set by the Finance Minister Magdalena Anderson: it is better for 100 good businesses to go belly up if it stops one "cheater" from getting funds they are not entitled to.

In a perfect "Let them eat cake" moment, minister Per Bolund recently suggested that freelancers and business owners struggling to survive should apply for bank loans while they wait for their relief applications to be paid out in a few months.

Meanwhile, last October - right as the second wave was forcing new restrictions upon us - the Nordic Council (the main forum for official Nordic co-operation, which involves Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland) decided to send a clear signal and cut the budget dedicated to support cultural projects by 20%.

But the story is exactly the same in pretty much every other country: artists, culture workers and cultural spaces are drowning, struggling to overcome a general lack of understanding and support.

In Italy, independent live venues have lost over 50 million Euros in revenue due to the past 12 months of lock-down. 49% of them are unsure whether they will be able to open again once the restrictions are lifted.

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot

The pleasure and happiness that music, the arts and culture in general bring to people are priceless. Just like the warmth of the sun shining over our heads, their value cannot be reduced to simple pounds or euros.

This, however, does not mean that Culture is worthless.

In Sweden, a recent report by Invest Stockholm highlighted how:

[t]he Creative & Cultural Industries have, as of 2018, reached a total turnover of over 217 Billion SEK. To put this into perspective, the entire retail industry of Stockholm had a revenue of 160 Billion SEK in 2018, the forestry industry of Sweden had a total revenue of 222 Billion SEK in 2016 and the food industry of Sweden had a total revenue of 195 Billion SEK in 2018. Given the size of the CCIs, it could be argued that perhaps it is time to start viewing them as an industry just as any other.

Live music alone is worth over 1 bln GBP to the UK economy. The entire music sector as a whole is well over 5 billion GBP - or if you prefer, quite a lot of shrimps.

Yet, according to a recent poll on COVID impact conducted by the Musician’s Union, the support measures enacted by the government so far are missing 38% of professional musicians, and a large percentage of them are considering giving up on their career for good.

The Music Venue Trust - like many of their counterparts all over Europe and North America - has also been fighting valiantly and relentlessly for a year to make sure grassroots live music venues get the support they need to survive the coming months.

There is a light that never goes out

The good news is that things seem to be finally moving in the right direction: many governments are finally announcing new initiatives and additional funding being earmarked specifically for the cultural sector.

Nevertheless, the risk of losing a significant part of our theaters, clubs and skilled cultural workers for good is still very real. While some countries are starting to talk about a possible "return to normal" (whatever that means) by the summer, nobody really knows for sure whether that will really happen, nor whether venues, festivals, culture workers have enough steam left to make it to the summer.

In London as in Rome, Stockholm, Brussels, Washington D.C. and in every other city, we need to keep the pressure high on our decision-makers so that:

• Adequate funding is made available to support culture workers and cultural venues.
• The requirements are clear and take into consideration the special needs of the cultural sector, so that no one is left out.
• The applications are processed swiftly and the money is paid out quickly, because we are literally running out of time.

This latter point, in particular, is crucial. In many cases - like with the $15 billion relief fund for the live events industry that the US Congress decided upon at the end of last year but that has yet to start accepting applications and lacks a clear timeline - uncertainty, confusion and delays are threatening to render all these efforts completely useless, just when we thought we were finally in the clear.

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The song "Lo Sciopero del Sole" does not have a happy ending. With the Sun now gone for good, a "miracle" salesman is quick to come to the rescue. "No worries!" he calls from the TV to all the bleak, disillusioned people, "Pay up! You will all get a brand new Sun. One made of cardboard!"

I sincerely hope that we won't have to face an equally grim reality once we finally get out of the dark tunnel we are in. We still have a chance to show the culture sector the appreciation and support it deserves, for the value it creates for our economies and for the joy that it brings to our hearts.

* As if we needed more bad news, just a couple of weeks ago the author of the song, singer and soul of Bandabardò, Erriquez, passed away. Some of my finest live music memories are connected to this band, and knowing that I will never get to see them play live again makes me extremely sad.

Header image by Edwin Hooper on Unsplash

While the hopeless romantic and those that always plan the "perfect" date months ahead are probably freaking out right now, the current situation offers at least a few opportunities to be spontaneous and creative.

Whether you are planning to impress your loved ones with a candle lit gourmet meal and fancy wines or a candle lit pizza and beer on the couch, GigsGuide's Cupid is here with a few tips to get you in the mood and help you create the perfect musical atmosphere for your home-date.

And if Corona is currently keeping you apart from the person your heart belongs to, you can still connect together to watch a virtual concert with an artist you both love and make the distance disappear, at least for a moment.

Friday, 12th February

Trio Dhoore brilliantly typifies the young generation of Belgian folk musicians.

Inspired by the traditional music of the southern Low Countries, Flemish rhythms and the traditions of central France, they prove that acoustic music can swing, arouse emotions and be very modern in its simplicity. Enjoy their live-streamed show from Studio Trad.

JBTV Music Television is the longest running music television program in the business. After 30+ years of ground breaking shows, JBTV presents Revolution Television Virtual Festival: three days of never before seen performances and content from some of the coolest bands on the planet! The lineup includes The Smashing Pumpkins, Biffy Clyro, Portugal. The Man, Frank Turner, Fall Out Boy and more.

American rock band Jimmy Eat World is closing their "Phoenix Sessions" series of concerts tonight and will perform their album 'Clarity' in full.

Saturday, 13th February

German saxophonist and singer Stephanie Lottermoser presents "This Time", hosted by International Jazz-Club A-Train in Berlin.

Stephanie recently released a single called "What Kind of Lovesong", a romantic and seductive soundtrack for lovers' day!

Scottish post-rock band Mogwai celebrate the release of their new album 'As The Love Continues' (perfectly on subject :D) with an exclusive premiere performance at the Tramway Theatre in Glasgow.

The elegant surroundings of the candle lit hall of the historic Vibiana will create the right atmosphere for Ry X's performance.

This one-off, multi-camera event features the Australian musician accompanied by a string ensemble and performing a breath-taking set of re-imagined fan favorites including “Berlin”, “Howling” and “Only”.

Sunday, 14th February

Wanna take your partner on a journey to the stars and back again?

Then join Martin Herzberg and his string band. Martin’s music touches your soul and allows you to escape in contemplation. Besides the songs of Martin‘s latest album 'Stars', you will get to hear some the most beautiful melodies from his previous works.

Miranda Dawn and Chris Hawkes first met when he crossed an Austin barroom floor and asked her to dance. The first time they sang together they found a sound Texas Monthly calls "undeniably intimate".

Lose yourself into the cosy harmonies of Dawn and Hawkes on their Valentine Brunch Live Stream!

Blake Lewis is performing original love songs along with many other classic jazz and contemporary pop romantic ballads with amazing guitarist Luca Pino in a special show called 'Love Songs for Lovers'.

Love is in the air (wear a mask!)

Full disclosure: I'll be honest, doing a Valentine's blog post felt a bit cheeky and predictable. It is apparently also very good for SEO, though. So even if you find Valentine's day silly, I hope you will forgive us for our unashamed attempt to ride the wave and catch a few extra clicks too.

The good news is that there are loads of great virtual concerts of all kind of genres, Valentine-themed and not, for you to discover on the GigsGuide homepage and enjoy, on Valentine's day and any other day of the year.

And don't forget to tell all the important people in your life about us, we guarantee they'll love you even more ;)

We enter this last month of 2020 quoting our beloved Counting Crows, carrying with us all the travel plans and music dreams that we had to freeze because of the pandemic.
It's been a hard time for music lovers, but our passion didn't fade since we kept nurturing it through great virtual concerts.

Since the beginning of the "Paradise City" adventure, we have been pinning loads of artists that we discovered thanks to live streamed shows.
We are definitely looking forward to meet all these great musicians in real life!

While we wait to experience these blissful moments, let's keep filling up the list! ;)

Here we go with our December picks.
Check back in regularly for updates and enjoy the Spotify playlist we created for you this month!

Wednesday, December 30th

During these holidays, Moby is making a special gift to his fans everyday, posting beautiful ambient improvised recordings on his Facebook page. Join his live streamed show at 8pm CET.

Thursday, December 31st

Everyone’s favorite “little orchestra” Pink Martini brings some much-needed festivity to your living room this December 31st with a brand new streaming New Year’s Eve concert event.

Past Events

Tuesday, December 1st

A cappella octet from UK Voces8 are performing with violinist Rachel Podger in a special Advent edition of their acclaimed collaboration "A Guardian Angel".

Wednesday, December 2nd

English singer and songwriter Newton Faulkner welcomes you to his first ever live stream gig! It will also be the first time he'll be playing his new single “Here Tonight”.

Thursday, December 3rd

Canadian dream/alt pop artist Rosemary Fairweather is delivering a live streamed show tonight on Side Door.

English folk rock musician and poet Keaton Henson is performing Live From The Sanctuary. The show will be followed by a Q&A with the artist.

He has been our true guitar hero throughout the pandemic, fighting to keep live music (and live venues!) alive. Tonight he is doing it again for Music Venue Trust #saveourvenues campaign! Don't miss Frank Turner Live streamed concert from historic Troubadour London at 10pm CET!

Friday, December 4th

American a cappella group Home Free present their Warmest Winter Holiday Special.

Grammy-winning Canadian pianist and entertainer Chilly Gonzales is performing at Classic Album Sundays, presented by Royal Albert Hall. He will also play songs from his upcoming album "A Very Chilly Christmas".

Saturday, December 5th

Belgian American multi-instrumentalist Trixie Whitley comes to you live for a special global live streaming event from the rooftop of Elsewhere in Brooklyn, supporting the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center in New York City.

Don't miss Liam Gallagher's exclusive one-off live streamed performance that  is delivering today, Down by the river Thames! The show will include tracks from Liam's two number one albums, along with Oasis tracks, some of which haven't been played live in a very long time.

Sunday, December 6th

Enjoy the eclectic style and versatile voice of American singer and songwriter Diane Birch, performing on StageIt.

Every Sunday, American folk singer, violinist and public speaker Gaelynn Lea is delivering a live streamed show at 9pm CET as part of her Quarantine Concerts Series.

Monday, December 7th

Duane Betts from The Allman Betts Band is playing some of his favorite tunes for his first ever Gimme Country DJ session.

Tuesday, December 8th

Join French singer and songwriter M. Pokora performing at La Seine Musicale as part of his Pyramide Tour 2020.

Join American blues ‘n boots band The Last Internationale, performing songs from their second album "Soul on Fire".

Wednesday, December 9th

Join Brooke Annibale performing at Virtually Green Note. This series of virtual concerts features a selection of amazing singer-songwriters performing 'in the round'... streamed live from their homes to yours!

Thursday, December 10th

Join Irish singer-songwriter Rea Garvey at The Yellow Jacket Sessions: great music, special guests and only good vibes.

British pop star Leona Lewis is performing at Childline's Merry Little Christmas, an evening filled with celebrity readings, spectacular musical performances, and magical entertainment.

Friday, December 11th

Join Murray and Natalia from The Dears in a cozy and interactive fireside chat and acoustic performance. During this Christmas Love Special they will be launching their first ever holiday single, answering questions, singing songs, and maybe even taking requests!

The enigmatic electronic jazz group The Cinematic Orchestra treats us to an awe-inspiring streamed performance from the Royal Festival Hall. In their debut streamed event and first performance at the Southbank Centre the band plays tracks from new album ‘To Believe’ as well as their hits.

Saturday, December 12th

Join American singer and songwriter Bea Miller performing a live streamed show tonight on NoCap.

Join Tallis Scholars performing a beautiful Christmas concert focused on the central figures of the Madonna and Child. The programme includes masterpieces by Thomas Tallis, Benjamin Britten, Arvo Pärt and Tomas Luis De Victoria.

Sunday, December 13th

Join the Gorillaz performing their latest album Song Machine on a global live stream show at 8pm CET.

Monday, December 14th

English pop rock band Lawson recently released their new single "Hell Yeah". Join them for a Christmas Q&A Party, featuring fan questions and games.

Tuesday, December 15th

For the first time ever, the much-loved Nordoff Robbins Carol Service will be virtual, as they continue the legacy of this special event bringing family, friends and supporters together. The amazing lineup includes Robbie Williams, One Republic and Jack Savoretti.

Thursday, December 17th

American pop and jazz singer and trombone soloist Aubrey Logan is performing her romantic 'Blue Christmas' and other beautiful songs on her live streamed show, at 7pm CET.

Friday, December 18th

Join Lockdown Live: Streaming of a White Christmas with The Darkness at indigo at The O2.

Saturday, December 19th

Join Canadian musician Dan Mangan performing a live streamed show tonight on Side Door. The programme will include songs requested by his fans.

Sunday, December 20th

Berlin-based Gipsy-Fusion Group The Trouble Notes are playing a special X-Mas online-concert tonight. There is no better time than the Holiday Season, to turn your living room into a dance floor and lose yourself for 60 – 80 minutes!

Monday, December 21th

Celebrate the Solstice with Seasonal Songs and Carols from a candle-lit medieval barn overlooking the Moors. Join The Dartmoor Midwinter Sessions With Show of Hands & Friends.

Tuesday, December 22th

«An American Holiday» was born from Adam Douglas' dream of presenting real American Christmas music to the Norwegian people, with a collection of songs that symbolizes the Holidays for him. Enjoy the show at 8pm CET.

Wednesday, December 23rd

Dutch singer and songwriter Eefje de Visser is performing a live streamed show at Het Podium, presented by Locked & Live.

Thursday, December 24th

Join Live From London Christmas - ‘Long, Long, Ago’ - Messe De Minuit with I Fagiolini, a British vocal ensemble specialized in Renaissance and contemporary music.

Saturday, December 26th

GRAMMY Award-winning pianist and jazz composer Ramsey Lewis presents an exclusive concert experience tonight, playing versions of some of the great Motown and soul hits as well as his own soulful funky classics.

Sunday, December 27th

American Blues Rock guitar player, singer, song-writer Ally Venable Band is performing a live streamed show tonight. Enjoy her powerful soulful voice.

Monday, December 28th

Join Nashville Meets London, a country music festival held each year in London, featuring established and exciting new talent from the heart of country music, Nashville, TN and the UK. Tune in at 7pm CET for Paige King Johnson's show!

Tuesday, December 29th

Singer/songwriter, electric violinist, and multi-instrumentalist Deni Bonet is delivering a Virtual New Year Performance at Mahopac Public Library tonight.

In the last 8 months we have listed almost 10.000 live streaming events. Virtual events are nowhere near the real thing, but they do offer the opportunity for music lovers to give unknown artists from all over the world a chance, and maybe discover a new favorite to love. We hope that our work can help people stuck at home find at least some relief in music.

In these months, we have discovered new amazing artists ourselves and shared our best tips on how to promote virtual events in the best possible way.

If you follow us on Facebook or Twitter you might have also seen that we have been sharing our tips for interesting virtual events pretty regularly. But social media posts often get lost in the flood of updates, so we have now decided to also start collecting our top tips here on our blog. Many live streaming events often remain available for viewing also after the event is finished, so hopefully this format makes it easier for our followers to enjoy great shows even if they have missed them when they were "live".

This post is the first of this series. To make it even easier to quickly check out our suggestions we are even starting to put together a Spotify playlist with all the artists we are recommending (you find it at the bottom of this page ;)).

As live streaming events often get announced only few days (sometimes hours) ahead of time, we plan to keep updating this post with new suggestions during the month. So bookmark this page and check back in regularly.

So... let's get started!

Upcoming events

Friday, November 27th

Join The King's Singers' Out of Darkness concert, highlighting a new season of hope after this difficult time of struggle. The show will feature music by Tallis, Gombert, Debussy, Michel Legrand, Ned Rorem and Jacob Collier.

British dub band Gentleman's Dub Club is delivering an online exclusive full band live show.

Saturday, November 28th

Spanish indie rock band Hinds are performing  'Live in a Rainbow', presenting their new album "The Prettiest Curse" at Moment House.

Join Scottish Music Awards 2020 tonight, hosting great artists like Wet Wet Wet, Amy Macdonald, Biffy Clyro.

Sunday, November 29th

Johnny Orlando is performing from Toronto's Danforth Music Hall as part of the It's Never Really Over virtual world tour on Moment House.

Join Todd Snider today at The First Agnostic Church of Hope and Wonder.

Monday, November 30th

Dublin based singer-songwriter Emma O'Reilly is delivering one of her powerful and uplifting shows tonight. Her music marries the fun of pop, the power of R&B and the beauty of classical music into a catchy, truly original sound

Past events

Sunday, November 1st

American singer and song-writer Ezra Furman is performing from the stunning Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Tuesday, November 3rd

Inuit-style throat singers Piqsiq are taking part in the Sākihiwē Festival to promote Indigenous music in Canada.

Wednesday, November 4th

Alternative rock band from Örebro (Sweden) Surfing The Orbit is playing a special show for Lidingö Rock.

Thursday, November 5th

Icelandic indie pop band Of Monster And Men are joining "Morning Coffee with the Nordics" for a chat about the North-European music scene.

Gothic Metal Gods Paradise Lost are celebrating their latest album "Obsidian" with a unique show.

Friday, November 6th

Check out Byråkrat, the new musical project by Martin Roos (in a previous life, one of the guitarist in Swedish rock heroes Kent), who started it from the urge to create instrumental muzak for his office.

Saturday, November 7th

In KYLIE: INFINITE DISCO, Kylie Minogue will take fans through a parallel universe from solitary isolation to an alternative euphoric dance-floor community of togetherness.

Sunday, November 8th

Irish singer and songwriter Niall Horan is performing a very special, exclusive worldwide live streamed show from the iconic Royal Albert Hall in London.

Tuesday, November 10th

American singer and songwriter Halsey presents "I Would Leave Me If I Could" Live Stream Moment, hosted by Moment House.

Wednesday, November 11th

American songwriter, producer and visual artist Rachael Sage delivers an Acoustic Cafe Concert, hosted by Wey Valley Radio.

Thursday, November 12th

Paul Weller is delivering a special live performance with brand new, exclusive songs, full band versions of tracks from ‘On Sunset’ and ‘True Meanings’.

American indie rock band Surfer Blood is performing a concert on Sessions: Live Music Streaming, featuring songs from their new album Carefree Theatre.

Friday, November 13th

Queens of the Stone Age will broadcast previously unseen live footage from MONA - Museum of Old and New Art, Tasmania, in aid of The Nick Alexander Memorial Trust and Life for Paris charities, to mark the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attack at The Bataclan.

Multi-instrumentalist and producer Ólafur Arnalds is taking part in 'Live from Reykjavík', presented by Iceland Airwaves Festival.

Saturday, November 14th

With his song ‘Think About Things’, Icelandic singer Daði Freyr gained an army of fans and went viral on a stratospheric scale. Join his performance at 'Live from Reykjavík'.

Sunday, November 15th

Mike Skinner and The Streets are delivering a theatrical spectacle from London’s EartH in Hackney: None Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Live Alive.

Monday, November 16th

Bassist and composer Linda May Han Oh is delivering an exclusive live streamed show at EFG London Jazz Festival with Fabian Almazan, Jamie Oehlers and Ben Vanderwal.

Scottish alternative blues guitarist & songwriter Dave Arcari is performing an acoustic set of covers from artists that influenced him when he started playing guitar busking on the streets of Glasgow.

Tuesday, November 17th

Luca Aquino Trio is performing at Roma Jazz Festival together with French drummer and songwriter Manu Katché, turning the stories of great boxers, such as Primo Carnera and Muhammad Ali, into music.

Wednesday, November 18th

Belgian singer-songwriter Milow is performing a live streamed show, hosted by Leverkusener Jazztage.

Thursday, November 19th

English band Right Said Fred is playing at 'That Was Then... This Is Now!',  a new and innovative Online Streamed Music Show, featuring huge acts of the last sixty years with exclusive live studio performances filmed in the highest visual and audio quality.

Inimitable poly-talent Tim Minchin will perform his new album, Apart Together, in its entirety in a one-off concert to be streamed from Sydney’s iconic Trackdown Studios.

Friday, November 20th

English singer and songwriter Nick Howard is delivering his first Tea Time show: a nice way to connect and take your mind off of the craziness of this period for a moment!

Metal Band Battle Beast are performing at Tuska Utopia. Combining one-of-a-kind metal concerts, state-of-the-art music video aesthetics and an entertaining travel show, this festival sees Finnish artists performing in intriguing landscapes in the global home of heavy metal.

Saturday, November 21st

Swedish band Dark Tranquillity perform their new album "Moment" live in its entirety at Gothenburg's famed venue Stora Teatern.

Sunday, November 22nd

English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Emma Stevens organizes a lockdown pyjama party live from her new home.

El Lobo En Tu Puerta perform in Seville at Monkey Week, the most important showcase festival in Spain and unique meeting point for independent music industry professionals.

Monday, November 23rd

Foo Fighters celebrate their 25th anniversary with an exclusive online show.

Tuesday, November 24th

Canadian-American singer Justin Nozuka is delivering a live streamed show at Bandsintown Live #Mostliked.

Banjo player, songwriter and rock & roll singer Curtis Eller welcomes you to the third installment of his weekly livestream series.

Wednesday, November 25th

British art rock band Django Django is be sharing an exclusive performance for Rough Trade Transmissions, celebrating new album 'Glowing In The Dark'.

Join Chasing Deer's on demand request show and enjoy their catchy and upbeat pop songs.

Thursday, November 26th

Join South African-Canadian jazz and soul singer Zaki Ibrahim performing at "Innovate Series: Cultivating Community + Healing Through Artistry", presented by Manitoba Music.

Danish singer Tim Schou is delivering his last online show of 2020 on StageIt. Don't miss it!

Check our GigsGuide's November Picks playlist on Spotify!

During the lockdown, we all experienced a deep sense of sadness witnessing the cancellation of concerts all over the world.

Many artists had to reschedule their tour dates and moved their activity online, delivering live streamed shows on their social media accounts or taking part in virtual festivals organized by venues and charities.

Here on GigsGuide we have been collecting and promoting thousands of online events, loyal to our mission of giving serendipity a gentle push and letting you discover new singers and bands to love even when you are comfortably sitting on your couch.

Singing together, apart

One of the musical phenomena that surprised us the most in this period has been the creative explosion of amateur musicians, who came together "virtually" to overcome the social distancing and kept playing and singing while staying at home.

Choirs, in particular, showed a remarkable inventiveness in finding new ways of rehearsing and performing.

I can personally confirm this, as I sing in a youth choir and our conductor Fabrizio Vestri had the readiness and foresight to move our weekly meetings online at the beginning of the quarantine. Stopping our live activity due to the pandemic was really traumatic, but we turned the situation to our own advantage, focusing on topics that we didn't have the time to discuss during the live rehearsals: more musical theory, rhythmics, sight-reading and specific breathing and vocal exercises.

All of this newly acquired knowledge led us to become more aware of our own voice and more confident in recording the videos that our conductor collected to create our very first virtual choir video.

What a challenging and surprising experience! In just a few days the video reached thousands of views on YouTube and was broadcasted on TV in Italy. People from all over the world reached out to express their appreciation and many were interested in participating in the project.

Our "small hobby" - normally struggling to get any attention or support from local institutions and decision-makers - was recognized worldwide. We became part of a wider movement of choir singers who leverage the potential of the Internet to reduce the distances and make new friends, sharing their passion for a cappella music.

Everybody can sing!

The strong point of choir singing is the fact that you don't need to be or become a professional musician to learn how to breath properly, listen and interact with the other sections, modulate your own voice and produce tuned chords... for a start you just have to follow your gut (and the conductor!), as you can see in this astonishing "harmony lesson" by Bobby McFerrin.

I experienced this "choir-effect" first-hand in 2012 when I participated in the "Europa Cantat Festival" in Turin, organized by the European Choral Association.

One of the best daily appointments was the "Open Singing" in Piazza San Carlo. A choir and a conductor on stage taught simple songs to the audience in the square. They then all sung together in a sort of emotional - and occasionally funny - happening, a true demonstration of the fact that everybody CAN sing, because singing is an inner and genuine human ability that only needs to be nurtured!

The lockdown may have made it more difficult to experience that sense of belonging and empathy that is certainly one of the main benefits of choral singing, but the choral community all over the world succeeded in reproducing the same feelings and emotions online. For instance, through innovative experiences like "Stay at Home Choir". The organizers of this initiative invited hundreds of singers to join leading exponents of choral music to sing along wonderful compositions.

You can see an example of the amazing results of the virtual collaboration between the best vocal group in the world, The King's Singers, and 732 choir geeks.

This kind of virtual performance is not new to the choral community.
American composer Eric Whitacre launched this initiative 10 years ago and became a reference point for many other similar experiments.

It is quite thrilling and touching to see all of these people so close to each other, testifying how powerful music is in overcoming physical and cultural barriers.

Preparing for better times

Musicians and music lovers alike, we all remember with nostalgia the good old times with live events, and we look forward to a time when we can all go back to performing - and singing along at - concerts again.

My choir and I are preparing for this long awaited moment with another virtual choir project that will become a live performance as soon as we are allowed to organize concerts again.

Six choirs from Rome are involved in this initiative, each one singing a different choral piece composed by the Italian conductor and composer Lorenzo Donati with the lyrics written by the poet Elisa Gastaldon.

Each of the pieces is independent and can be sung alone, but they are conceived to be assembled to compose a vertical choir in which the six songs intertwine and create a wider harmony.

The song assigned to my choir is called "Battiti" - "Beats", and it goes:

Strong beats of lives or wings resonate in silence
In those beats whispers the future of our pathway

May the silence "imposed" by this tough period be filled by the beats of our hearts, longing for the moment when we can freely make and enjoy live music together again!

(Header Photo by David Beale on Unsplash)

... Sweet comic Quarantine...

It sounded like an appropriate "jingle" for this post as long as I was convinced that the pronunciation of "Quarantine" was similar to "Valentine" (Full disclosure, I am Italian, and like many others until very recently I had never had the need to use this word in English before :P).

Despite my disappointment in discovering that it is pronounced "quarantiiin" and not "quarantain", I will still indulge this poetic license and sing that lovely chorus my way. :D

I suspect the reason these (alternative) lyrics found their way into my head in the last few weeks is because, to me, they felt very real.
 
Obviously, I am worried about the general situation of the world today, and I have friends who directly experienced the suffering brought by the virus.

But I feel lucky saying that, thank God, my quarantine has been funny in some way, and it is still going on in the best way I could imagine: I am reading a lot, watching amazing documentaries and movies, rehearsing online with my choir, smelling colorful flowers, watching the birds in my garden, working out every day (!!) and... discovering a lot of great artists while I help out GigsGuide organize the listings and promoting online gigs from all over the world.

My virtual trips to Paradise City have opened up a world of wonderful new music. And now, I'd love to share 5 of my best quarantine discoveries with you.

Persian Pelican

We post daily "suggestions" on GigsGuide's Facebook and Twitter pages, so in these last two months I have sifted through hundreds of gigs listings.

One of the criteria I adopted to choose the ones to promote was "the weird name" (I know, it is not so fair, but in this case it worked!).

When I read some more information about Persian Pelican, I was happy to find out that this is the musical project of an Italian song-writer, Andrea Pulcini.

I like the versatility of his voice, the way he whispers sometimes while singing, and the delicate sound of the guitar, which prevails in most of his arrangements.

Frank Turner

This guy is full of energy! He has been doing online gigs and guitar tutorials from his house during the whole quarantine. Frank Turner perfectly seized the opportunities of live-streamed performances to keep in touch with his fan base and grow it!

Like Francesco, I am so looking forward to go to see him live as soon as we are allowed to travel again and go to live concerts.

When I first listened to the song in the video, I thought the lyrics perfectly represented the spirit of all the people sharing music from their windows and balconies, a longing to feel as one in this period of social distancing.

And I still believe in the need,
For guitars and drums and desperate poetry.
And I still believe that everyone,
Can find a song for every time they've lost and every time they've won.

So just remember folks we not just saving lives, we're saving souls,
And we're having fun.

Frida Selander

As a soprano choir-singer, I am usually surrounded by voices in the same range as mine, and I tend to listen to female singers I can vocally relate to.

So I was gladly surprised by the deep and vibrant voice of Frida Selander, which ranges more in the alto area, enriched by a gentle but fiery touch on the guitar.

Her chest register is so resonant and powerful! This kind of listening is quite helpful when you want to explore the potentials of your own voice, and that's what I did, trying to sing along with her.

The Kay Brothers

Irish traditional music and American country music have always had a special place in my heart.

Once I started playing The Kay Brothers, I was instantly hooked and could not stop dancing. Their sound is shaped by a broad register of musical instruments: upright bass, guitar, tenor banjo, fiddle, cello, ukulele, harmonica, congas, shakers, and an array of foot percussion.

I love the description of the band on their Facebook page:

"The mission: to preserve the rural music of our forefathers and mothers that used to fill the wooden barns that once dotted the countryside on Saturday night and the small family churches on Sunday morning. That party is still going on.... it’s in your blood."

Even though my roots are not in Missouri but in the south of Italy, I can totally relate with this sense of belonging to my family and its rural music (aka tarantella :P). It's in my blood!

AHI

As for the first one, the name of this artist is what caught my attention at first. Just three uppercase letters: AHI (in Italian, an expression often used when you walk barefoot on a piece of lego).

Another element turned on my curiosity: his hat.

Then I started listening to some of his songs and... Wooow! I was totally captured by his scratchy and soulful voice, while I could also identify myself in the lyrics.

I had that rare feeling that occurs when it seems that what you hear singing is the heart of a person more than the vocal cords. I think that's what souls connection is all about, and when it happens through music it is even more powerful!

Before writing this post, I checked the FAQ on his website and I found out that:

• AHI are the initials of his name - Ahkinoah Habah Izarh - well, thanks for simplifying our lives!
• What he wears is an Equestrian hat, and there is a great story behind it... Hope to hear it when I will go to see him live!

... And some familiar faces

My regular commute to Paradise City has also offered me the opportunity to make some unforgettable memories that would have been quite impossible "in the real world".

For instance, this year I was among the lucky guests invited to Glen Hansard's birthday party at home, on April 21th.

He celebrated his 50th birthday with thousands of people tuned in on his Instagram profile, telling stories, sharing the screen with Eddie Vedder (!) for a few minutes, and singing some of his beautiful songs. It was so crowded and intimate at the same time, that I shed some tears of joy as I felt part of something unique. Who would have thought?

Beyond my expectation, this virtual experience is giving me a lot, both in terms of knowledge of the music scene worldwide and emotions that I can share with old and new friends even if we can't physically see each other.

We all know we are going through hard times, but music can always make miracles, keeping people together despite every restriction and comforting souls against every fear.

Headline Picture by Wes Hicks

It has now been almost two months since we started listing "online" live events.

During this period, we have been spending a significant part of our awake time looking for "online" events to add to the directory. So far, we have helped promote over 3000 of them (in itself, not a bad achievement for a startup of 2 - with a little help from our friends - and no money).

This also means that by now we have practically seen it all. So I thought I'd put together a list of the silliest mistakes I see many artists/venues/promoters do when it comes to planning, advertising and performing their livestreamed gigs - and some simple suggestions on how to do it better.

1. Don't play "hard to get"

I could write a book (of horrors) about the length certain people will go to make sure nobody ever finds their online event.

In no particular order, here are some of the things that had me scratching my head a few times over the last few weeks:

• Posting "Hi guys, I'll be streaming in 10 minutes, come join me!" on various Facebook groups. Sure, we are all stuck at home. It doesn't mean we got nothing else to do though. Being spontaneous is great, but if you go live on the spur of the moment don't expect a lot of people to show up. Giving people at least 2-3 days heads up (and spending this time spreading the word) is definitely a good way to increase the odds that your mom and her cat will not be the only ones there.
• Forgetting to clearly write the date, the time and the timezone. "It's 5 o'clock somewhere" is not going to cut it when people can tune in from all over the world. Not everybody is going to see your post right away, so just writing "tomorrow" or "on Friday" can be quite confusing.
• Forgetting to tell people where the stream is going to be available. I blame Instagram and its "publish this update also on Facebook/Twitter" function for this. Very often, we look at posts about live events and have to spend a lot of time looking for clues about which platform(s) will the stream be published on.
• Putting all the relevant event info only on the poster. I blame Instagram (again :)) and the "visual" culture it promotes for this one. Don't get me wrong, making a really cool poster for a virtual event is a very nice touch. It is, however, not very smart to put all the event information only on the nicely designed poster. If you are posting it online - and not simply sticking it onto a wall - then all the event's key information should be written in the description field too, so they are easier to find also via search.
• Running a "24 hours marathon of music" without providing a full list with the names of performers (and no, just listing their social media handles is not good enough) and the time they will perform (I know you want people to watch the whole thing, but not telling them when their favourite artist will play will just increase their chances of missing it).

In short, the more work - and guesswork - you make people do, the more likely they are to go somewhere else (particularly when that "somewhere else" is just a click away).

2. The world is your oyster (particularly in quarantine)

Streaming a live performance can be an excellent way for artists to stay in touch with their existing fan base and the followers they already have on social media.

At the same time, one of the few positive aspects of the current situation is that people all over the world are stuck at home and looking for good quality entertainment online.

The main reason we were excited about listing "virtual" gigs here on GigsGuide is that, if people do not have to physically "be" somewhere to "go" to a gig, this is actually the perfect time for them to discover new artists from all over the world. Artists they would have probably never come across "in real life" and that can now become new favourites to follow (and, eventually, hopefully soon, go see play live for real).

Yet, I see many artists only focusing on the followers they already have and neglecting such a simple (and free!) opportunity to acquire new ones around the world.

So even if you don't think anybody except your mom cares about your "bagpipe rap metal for children" project, make an effort and add also a short description in English when you post about the event.

If you are asking for donations or selling records/merch, listing only local options (like Venmo in the US or Swish in Sweden) or asking people to do a bank transfer (Why do Italians hate credit cards so much? :D) is going to make it very hard for your new international fans to support you. So make sure you include at least one payment option that is easily accessible from abroad, like Paypal or Stripe.

A word from our sponsors

For a lot of these things, it actually helps telling us about the events you are planning to run.

GigsGuide takes care of formatting dates and times correctly. We also automatically add information about the performers so that it is easier for people to navigate all the events available and find the ones that best match their preferences. Fans can also save an event to their own calendars and share them with their friends.

We have actually been pleasantly surprised to see a few artists using their event listing page on GigsGuide as landing pages to promote their events through their own social channels too.

Recently, we have also started hosting live streaming events directly on the GigsGuide event pages: the first "GigsGuide presents..." featured The Hebbe Sisters, three amazingly talented jazz singers from Sweden.

You can still watch it here (or join us next week for another one).

3. Have a plan!

Saying that Corona caught us all by surprise would be the understatement of the century (trust me on this, I am the guy who was busy building a travel service for concert-goers when this shit hit the fan).

While a few artists were already live streaming long before it was cool, for most of the others this was completely uncharted territory and something that we are all basically making up as we go along.

Yes, over the last 2 months we have seen even established artists (those that should have a team of professionals behind them) make all sorts of silly mistakes with their livestreams.

But we have also seen some truly remarkable stuff as well. Like Frank Turner single-handedly saving venue after venue, week after week, always from the comfort of his own living room (fun fact: I discovered Frank through his livestreaming events... Now I can't wait to see him live :)).

I am convinced that live streaming should not be treated as a poor replacement for regular concerts, to be ditched as soon as things "go back to normal". Particularly for those that understand how to leverage this new medium to create new types of experiences and ways to connect with their audiences, it has all the potential to become a significant additional tool to generate revenue and grow a fan-base.

I think there are number of valuable lessons to be learned here.

The first is that you should not do it simply because everybody else is. There are plenty of other things you can do to engage with your fans, so focus on what works for you.

If you do decide to take the plunge, then make sure to have clear objectives for what you want to achieve by livestreaming your performances.

What do you want your audience to do? Buy a ticket? Follow you on social media? Donate? Buy your record or your t-shirt? Whatever that is, you should make sure you communicate your "call to actions" clearly and consistently, and that you make it as easy as possible for them to take action.

This was actually one of the main reasons we started hosting gigs on GigsGuide: drive more "conversions" for the artists by making call to actions like "donate via Paypal" as visible and quick to operate as possible.

The type of interaction you want to stimulate should also influence the choice of platform to use and the type of content to include. There is clearly no one-size-fits-all, proven recipe here, so have fun testing different delivery methods and different formats to figure out what works best for you and your fans.

Finally, a short remark about the importance of taking the time to get at least a basic understanding of how streaming works, learn how to use the streaming software (OBS is a popular choice, but there are loads of other solutions out there) and do some tests (I have seen quite a few "live streaming events" that for the most part were about the performer trying to figure out why nothing was working... Don't be that guy).

And while we are at it, do not underestimate what a huge difference a good microphone, proper lighting and a decent camera make, particularly when you compare it to that "Blair Witch Project" vibe that people streaming through their iPhone often give.

If you are looking for guidance in this department, check out the interview that our friend Caro at Musicspots did with Grammy Award Winning producer / Engineer Larry Mitchell a few weeks ago about the gear he uses.

Until next time

There is, obviously, a lot more to be said about live streaming as a phenomenon and the impact - both positive and negative - that it is having and will continue to have on the live music industry. I do already have quite a lot of material for another blog post, so stay tuned for more...

In the meantime, whether you are an artist streaming (or one still on the fence) or a fan watching, we'd love to hear about how you have got through the last 8 weeks. Shoot us an email or a message on Facebook or Twitter and share your experience, your tips, your discoveries, your sunshine stories... and the horror stories too :).

It's been now just a month since COVID-19 basically killed travel and live music (and with it, among other things, our business).

As you know, instead of simply shutting down we decided to turn GigsGuide into the best listing site for "virtual" gigs.

Our goal was to help people stuck at home use this time in quarantine to discover new artists to love, while giving performers - particularly the less established ones that are suffering the current situation the most - access to an audience as big as the world for their shows.

In spite of being a tiny team with no money in the bank, in the last four weeks we have listed over 2000 individual live music streaming events from all over the world, in all kind of genres.

We have also kept adding features to the site to cope with the new situation, from displaying the event times in various timezones to allowing registered users to save artists they like and receive notifications when they plan to stream.

We are now making "donation" and "support" options more visible on the event pages, so that fans know how they can help their favourite artists make it through this crisis. All this always 100% for both users and artists (so if you are an artist, make sure you tell us when you plan to go live ;)).

Besides discovering a lot of amazing new music ourselves, we have also made some great new friends. People the encourage and support us and that share our passion for live music and our determination in doing our very best to make sure there will still be venues and gigs to go to when this whole mess is over.

Among these friends we are lucky to include the good folks at The List, one of the UK's largest event listing sites. In times like these, it felt pretty natural to share what we have so that together we can reach a bigger audience.

Since a few days ago, the events we collect and organize and that we display here on GigsGuide are also immediately available on The List too. Considering they reach millions of people in the UK, that should make for a lot more opportunities for Icelandic soul singers, Italian indie pop bands or Bulgarian singer-songwriters to win new fans.

And hopefully soon, we'll be able to help these fans travel to go see their new favourite artists play live, for real.

You can read the full announcement over at The List.

Over the past few weeks, things were looking incredibly bright for GigsGuide. Traffic to the site was growing. More and more people were finding great gigs to attend all over the world. Concerts ticket were being bought, trips being booked.

And then, very suddenly, the world came to a complete stop.

We built GigsGuide because we are passionate about live music and want more people to experience it more. But with gigs getting cancelled* and people in many countries not even allowed to leave their homes, we were sitting on a pretty useless site.

And then on Saturday it hit us... if we can't travel for music, then maybe we can get music to come to us?

The biggest challenge is that our system is built with the assumption that a gig will take place in a physical venue. But we quickly got around it by creating an imaginary place where all these great gigs can take place.

And what better place than one where the grass is green and the girls are pretty? Enter Operation "Paradise City" 🤘.

We ended up spending Sunday and Monday adding support for "virtual" concerts to GigsGuide. It is still all very "work in progress", but you can see the results at https://gigs.guide/live

Discover the music you love, wherever you go are

I think GigsGuide might actually be the first concert listing service that makes no difference between physical and virtual gigs and lists them all under one roof.

The core of GigsGuide functionalities is still there, so particularly if you are a registered users we'll still try to help you find the gigs that best match your taste. Furthermore, if you have set your home town in your profile, we'll show you the time the livestream starts in your own location.

Looking on the bright side, I also see an unintended - but amazing - consequence of not having to physically move to go to a gig. Being stuck at home watching live concert streaming all day might actually be the best time to discover new artists to love.

This should also give us all something to really look forward to when we will be finally free to roam the earth again: take amazing trips to go see our new favourite artists perform live!

Calling all the artists!

True to our mantra that we don't make money on the music, if you are an artist planning to stream your next live gigs you can advertise them on our site for free. Even if you charge a fee or ask for donations to access the event. We also don't care what streaming platform you use, as long as you give us a working link we can share with your fans.

If you don't know where to start or what platform to use, we recommend Cherie Hu's excellent guide.

From our side, we have a couple of suggestions/requests/recommendations to make based on what we have seen so far:

• Don't wait until the last minute to announce the gig. Ideally, you should give us (and your fans) at least 48 hours notice.
• If possible, use a service that allows you to schedule a live performance in advance and gives you a direct link to where the performance will be accessible to the audience. Then share that link with us ;). It looks more professional. It helps visitors not feeling like they ended up in the wrong place if they arrive early. It also makes the recording easily accessible even when the event is over.
• Have a clear call to action. Do you want people to buy your merch? Make a donation (to you or a cause you support)? Write it clearly in the descriptions, have all the links ready and visible and make sure you mention it during the show.

When you are ready, we have a simple Google form here that you can use to submit all the details.

We need your help to spread the word!

We want to let more artists and music lovers know about our virtual concert listings page, so we can throw the biggest f--ing (virtual) festival this planet has ever seen!

Yesterday it was mentioned on the BBC site  and Dee Snider 🤘🤘retweeted our tweet: will you help us spread the word too?

Here is a few social media posts you can RT/share:
https://twitter.com/mygigsguide/status/1239619918129233923
https://www.facebook.com/gigsguide/posts/672528593576724
https://www.instagram.com/p/B91GwLGAMo3/

Thanks!

.

p.s. Fuck Corona!

* My personal little tragedy: missing the Therapy? 30 year anniversary gig in Hamburg that was scheduled for tomorrow.

When I started writing this post, my objective was to highlight how the established way public administrators look at culture not only does a disservice to the cultural sector itself, but it also represent a gigantic missed opportunity when it comes to promoting tourism.

By the time I was done writing, though, it had become painfully clear how the spread of the COVID-19 virus and the fight to control it is having the unintended consequence of creating an existential threat to the entire live music and cultural ecosystem as we know it (Bas Grasmeyer has done a pretty good job at collecting articles on the subject).

In this new situation we face, my original argument is not only still relevant. It has become even more urgent.

When the economy fails, we bail out banks because - whether we like it or not - they play a fundamental role in our society and economies. It is time we realize that the same is true for Culture. Supporting the live music and cultural sectors in these hard times is not the "noble" thing to do. It is, above all, a financially sound investment.

To get the full return on this investment, though, we also need to completely change our perception of Culture, its role in society and of the full extent of its impact on our economy.

It's the city I live in...

I have lived in Malmö for almost 20 years. When I moved here, one of the things that impressed me the most was how a town of such a relatively small size could have such a rich and varied cultural life.

From an impressive Opera house to many great independent venues like Inkonst, Kulturbolaget and Plan B. With events like Backyard Sessions and the yearly week of great music & wonderful food bonanza that is the Malmö Festival. And without forgetting a world-class symphony orchestra and a lively grassroot music scene. When it comes to music and culture, Malmö is definitely a city that punches well above its own weight.

This is why, in spite of its relatively modest size, I have been trying really hard to find a way for GigsGuide to work with the local authorities to promote Malmö as a music destination.

Best bang for the buck!

A few days ago, the Swedish newspaper Arbetet reported how Malmö Tourism in 2019 has spent almost 65000 Euros on influencer marketing, a considerably higher amount than any other city in Sweden.

While the article itself has quite a critical tone, the comments in it from Malmö Tourism clearly indicate how from their perspective this has been a successful project, providing a great return on the investment in terms of international visibility for the city.

At the same time, the interest in doing something around music tourism (with or without our help) has been very low. Promoting live events and supporting the local music scene is seen as the responsibility of the Culture office.

After the initial frustration, this setback got me thinking and eventually led me to an important realization. The problem is not Malmö Tourism. The fundamental problem is the way most administrations look at Culture.

Tourist Boards operate on the base of the priorities and the mandate set by the city's politicians and senior decision-makers. And when you follow the money, it is very clear that decision-makers (in Malmö just like in most other cities in the world) do not see culture as an asset with the potential of attracting more visitors to the city.

The established narrative is that Culture is simply a cost, and it's not one on the Tourist Board's budget. From this perspective, it is then perfectly reasonable for Malmö Tourism to allocate its funds to the promotional activities it believes offer the highest potential return on the investment.

Culture as a cost

All over the world, the job of supporting the local cultural scene belongs to the Cultural promotion office. This support materializes mainly in subsidies that the local authorities pay to various local organizations to enable them to run their activities.

Public funding for culture is vital and extremely important: it is meant to ensure a variety of cultural activities that would not be possible purely on commercial terms. It gives the opportunity to artists and event organizers to take a risk, to explore uncharted territories and experiment. It contributes to making culture accessible to the broader public, not only by ensuring that the events can take place, but also occasionally by subsidizing the entry fees to make the events free for all to attend (something that Malmö has actually been very good at).

At the same time, the current system presents many severe limitations:

• It creates an unhealthy reliance on public "handouts". The moment budgets get cut, it is very hard for many to quickly find other sources to make up for the losses, pay their staff and even stay in business.
• It naturally favours those more established organizations that know how to navigate the system and how to write an application, leaving out many of the newer, more dynamic and creative ones.
• A corollary of the previous point is that, for some recipients, "getting the money" becomes an end in itself, not a means to an end.
• It can create unfair competition for the local venues and promoters that operate on commercial terms. This doesn't mean cities should not offer free events. They should, however, be aware of what impact they might have particularly on small, independent venues and work together to mitigate those negative effects.
• It makes the whole system potentially vulnerable to being kidnapped by special interests (if it sounds far-fetched, consider that in another not-so-distant part of Sweden right-wing politicians are actively using their power to dictate what kind of art the municipality should be allowed to buy).

Another negative aspect of this approach is that Cultural promotion offices often end up having a very narrow view on their mandate to serve the local population.

An example of this "locals only" mindset is the fact that while many cities have some kind of "events calendar" on their site, the large majority of them are usually only available in the local language.

So, for instance, the event promotion and online ticketing service that the Culture office in Malmö runs to support the smaller local event organizers (Kulturcentralen) is only available in Swedish. And so is the one for the Opera and for the cool new concert hall, Malmö Live. This severely limits the ability for many world-class events to reach not only out-of-town visitors, but also a significant portion of the city's very international local population.

Culture as an asset

People are hungry for unique experiences and cultural events are one of the top reasons people travel.

Traditionally, the promotion of "cultural tourism" has either focused on a handful of major events (like festivals) or very vague messaging that basically said "come visit, we have great culture".

In a time when the "experience economy" is seeing exponential growth - not only in travel - and customers are expecting advanced personalisation, this old-fashioned, "one-size-fits-all" approach is simply not good enough anymore.

There is, however, still very little awareness of the true extent of culture's financial contribution to our local economies and a strong need to make that more visible and tangible to the local decision makers.

Even without major reports like the one the Berlin Club Commission released last year (highlighting how just "clubbing tourism" helps put over 1.5 billion Euros in the city's economy), the busloads of Danish pensioners that can often be seen outside the Malmö Opera on show nights should provide a visible indication of the power of culture to promote tourism.

We built GigsGuide because we see an incredible, unexploited potential in musical and cultural tourism: if influencer marketing can inspire followers to visit a location through well-crafted Instagram posts, then helping people find the music they care about can be an even more powerful promotional tool, with an even higher return on investment.

This is particularly true for so many cities that like Malmö have a cultural life punching above their own weight, with so much to offer but also with a local audience of limited size.

Any self-respecting artist, promoter, venue will tell you they would much rather get help to fill more seats than to make up for the empty ones. And while a Euro spent in direct subsidies is always just worth a Euro, a Euro invested in promoting the local cultural events to a broader audience beyond the city's limits returns multiple times and helps generate more wealth and benefiting the entire local community.

Music in the time of Corona.

In spite of our local setbacks, we are still very bullish about the power of attraction of Malmö's cultural life. To make up for our own limited resources, we even "joined the system" and applied to a local foundation for funding to showcase the music scene of Malmö (and of the entire region) to the world (fingers crossed until June ;)).

Most importantly, we are bullish about unleashing the same unexploited potential we see in so many cities and regions all over the world.

Bu it's particularly now more than ever that we need a radically different narrative about the true value of live music and culture. Not only for our souls, but also for our local economy.

While it is vital that we all do our very best to support our local artists, venues and promoters in these difficult times, we also need a more ambitious plan so that we can still realize their true potential tomorrow. The answer can't simply be more handouts.

Regardless of whether a city decides to partner with GigsGuide to do it or not, it is time for politicians and decision makers to re-evaluate how they look at live music and culture and start seeing them as the incredible asset they are. It is time for new strategies where Tourist Boards and Culture offices finally join forces for real, creating the perfect storm that makes a city more attractive to tourists and a better place to live in for the locals.

"No matter how cold the winter, there's a springtime ahead"
Pearl Jam

p.s. there is more about our views on live music and tourism here and here ;)

p.p.s. Want to share your comment/questions/criticism on this post? Join us on Medium!

We just sent out the update below to all registered users on GigsGuide with an overview of all the cool new features we are adding to the service. GigsGuide users have definitely more fun... Get a free account today and have more fun too!!

Hi!

I was going to start this newsletter with the usual "hope you are  well", but in these times of virus panic it felt even more cliché than  usual. I do genuinely hope you are all well though (we don't have that  many users yet, so I can't really afford to loose any of you, ok?).

I also realize that sending an update about a "travel" service now might  feel a bit out of touch with reality but hey, we'll eventually get out  of the bunker and repopulate the planet, right? And we do have a ton of  news for you... so let's get right into it ;)

1. See who's playing in your city!

A couple of weeks ago, we pushed an important update to GigsGuide, adding dedicated city pages to make access to upcoming gigs quick and easy whether you are at home or travelling.  

The city pages have also an important role in our strategy to use  live music to promote a more responsible tourism. The idea with  GigsGuide is not only to help you enjoy your trips more, but also to  give you an excellent opportunity to actively support the local music  scene of your destinations (and of your own city, obviously).  

If you are curious about what we are doing in this area, check out this post on our blog.

2. It's easier to search for artists

The Artist Directory has received a small update now, in the form of a funky search bar that  makes it easy for you to look up your favourite artists and see all their upcoming gigs.

3. We have a new, cleaner search box

We have received a lot of suggestions and feedback on how to  improve our search experience, and put it all in practice in our new  search box.   Among other things, you no longer need to specify an origin (unless  you want to search for flights too, obviously). We have also added a  dedicated flow for the inspirational search… So make sure you click on  the “Go on an adventure!” tab to get suggestions on great trips to see  an artist you love and discover a new destination.

4. Your personalized newsletter is coming

In a couple of days, we will deploy another update to our system  that will deliver to every user (i.e. you :)) a list of suggestions for  concerts we think you will like (based on your profile's preferences), taking place in your home-town in the next 4 weeks.

The idea is to have this as a monthly update, but we'd love to hear  from you feedback on its content and on your preferences in terms of  frequency and time-span. The first newsletter is coming later this week,  so check out your profile on GigsGuide and make sure you have set your  hometown and your musical preferences in there so we can deliver.

In the next iteration, we plan to add also suggestions for trips  you can take to see a band or an artist you like. We have a couple of  funky ideas around this and we are really enjoying playing with the  Skyscanner API, so stay tuned for more.

Talking about Skyscanner, it is now fully integrated in our service and  gives you the same results as the original service, together with the  GigsGuide music suggestions.

Using the flight search on GigsGuide to book your flights does not cost you anything, but helps us pay for the service. Our commitment is to earn our living from selling travel, not from charging venues and  artists for “promotion”. This way, we can put our users' interest first  and help you find the events you love, rather than pushing those that  give us the highest commission.

If you like what we do and share our vision, then the best thing  you can do to help is to book your travel through GigsGuide (and to tell  all your friends to do the same!).

Thanks for taking the time to read our update. As usual, if you have any  questions/comments/suggestions, don't hesitate to get in touch!  

Ciao

Francesco and Mikhail
The GigsGuide Marching Band

p.s. don't forget you can also follow more closely our shenanigans on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

This week we continue our series of posts on great concerts to see in 2020 by welcoming our first guest blogger, Maria Sara. She is the sister of our CEO Francesco and a massive music nerd (it runs in the family...).

In the past few years, I discovered the enormous pleasure of traveling alone.

I visited Lisbon and Vienna, and many other beautiful places all by myself, taking my time without any pressure, just steering according to my interests and going where my gut told me to go.

This longing for "quality me-time" also took over for some amazing concerts I decided to attend alone last year, partly because the artists at hand – Glen Hansard and Ivan Segreto – were unknown to my friends (they tend not to join me sight unseen… How can I make them understand that’s the way you surprisingly can discover wonderful new music?! Mmeh :/), but mostly because I wanted to feel part of the shows with that thrilling emotion that makes you say: "This is ALL for ME!" (just because, as you don’t know anyone in the venue, you don’t need to share comments on each song or take pictures to be posted on Instagram tagging each other -.-").  

So, my plan for this new year is to go further with my musical self-pampering, combining trips and gigs in Italy and – why not? – in the rest of the world.

Here is the list of the artists I am going to see or that I would like to see live in 2020!

Pilar

I could tell a funny story about #Busic (the concept Francesco invented to describe the practice of mixing a business trip with an amazing live music experience) related to this artist.

Well, actually the business trip was the one I make by train every day to get to my workplace in Rome (does it count? :P) and the concert took place last January 30th in a jazz club which is about 20 minutes’ walking from the office.

Ilaria "Pilar" Patassini is one of my favorite female singers on the Italian music scene, her voice is astonishing for its versatility, floating from soft and tinkling sounds to powerful and soaring vocals.

Pilar frequently sings around Europe and North America, but luckily the next couple of gigs are going to be in much more convenient locations. And if I don't want to wait for her concert on March 21st in Rome I can always take a quick road trip on March 6th to Terni, in the south of one of Italy's nicest regions, Umbria.

Jeangu Macrooy

I have to say "Thank You, GigsGuide" for introducing me to this guy.

J. M. was, in fact, one of the performers that the GG team discovered at the Reeperbahn Festival last September.

After reading the story of his concert in Hamburg, I was keen to listen to his album Horizon. I immediately fell in love with his voice and his style!

The lyrics of Second Hand Lover, Shake Up This Place and Colors (just to name three) got stuck in my head for many days!

At the moment, Jeangu is only touring in his own country, The Netherlands, so an option could be to go see him in Groningen on April 24th.

But Jeangu is also representing The Netherlands in this year's Eurovision Song Contest (Rotterdam, May 12th– 16th), so I am definitely supporting #TeamJeangu and hoping he wins... and then goes on a massive European tour :).

Turin Brakes

I have been listening to this band since I was a teenager.

The first chords of their song Painkiller have the power of giving me an immediate sense of  lightheartedness.  I like the "open" sound of their guitars and the way the voices of the duo Knights and Paridjanian intertwine… I would love to be the third in harmonizing their choral parts!

This year, Turin Brakes are performing all over England with an acoustic tour, so I am quite spoiled for choice.

If I have to pick up a date, it would be March 11st in Banbury, as it is close to the city where my brother Giampaolo lives, so it would be an excellent excuse to visit him too.

The Tallis Scholars

Those of you that follow GigsGuide on social media might remember my trip to Malmö to attend a 6-hours choir-festival with Francesco last October.

Well, choir singing is one of my biggest passions, and for choir singers the Tallis Scholars are part of "the singer's Bible".

Alongside the King's Singers, the Tallis Scholars are the greatest a capella performers, especially for Renaissance sacred music.

Both groups were founded between the end of the Sixties and the beginning of the Seventies and their members have changed throughout their long story.

One of my favorite performances by the Tallis Scholars is the "Miserere" by Gregorio Allegri... just perfect!

While I have already seen The King's Singers a few times at Parco della Musica in Rome (a great experience: they have the magic power to literally hypnotize the audience with their crystal clear voices and precise harmonizations), I didn't have the chance to see the Tallis Scholars live when they came to Rome.

So, this year I could fly to Poland for Easter holidays and attend their concert in Gdańsk on April 9th.

Katie Melua

The first time I listened to this artist I was in my car, tuned on Radio Antenna 1, one of the best radio stations in Italy, thanks to whom I discovered many singers and bands that are now pillars in my daily playlist.

The chorus:

- There are nine-million bicycles in Beijing.
That's a fact,
It's a thing we can't deny,
Like the fact that I will love you 'til I die. -

turned on my curiosity, I thought like “How did it come to her mind to compare the bicycles in Beijing with love?”, but that was quite original and I continued listening, really appreciating that sort of Chinese atmosphere in the arranging.

I don’t know much of Katie’s production, so I would seize the opportunity to better know it next October 14th in Frankfurt, where I am planning to go to attend the Frankfurt Book Fair. Considering I work for a publishing house, this definitely qualifies as a proper #Busic trip!

Well, I started this post like a "solitary spirit" manifesto, but let me just say that I love to be in good company and share experiences with motivated people too (no time wasters, please! :D).

Concerts are part of the quality time I like to spend to recharge and make new friends (I am not that shy, luckily!). So if some of the gigs I suggested tickle your musical taste, get in touch!

Do you also want to share your best concert tips with the GigsGuide music travellers support group blog's readers?

Then give us a shout!