A Sheffield musician is live-streaming his gigs during lockdown – and the reaction has been amazing
and live on Freeview channel 276
As the coronavirus pandemic has shut venues and caused festivals to be cancelled, Jack T. Harper has decided to try and lift people's mood by beaming gigs directly to their living rooms.
Before the crisis worsened, Jack had been due to fly to New York to record a new song called ‘I See Clearly’ with pop star Shakira’s agent, Albert Sterling Menendez.
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Hide AdHe live-streamed his first gig at 7:30pm last Friday to see how his audience would react. During the gig, he dedicated ‘I See Clearly’ to hard-working NHS staff who are on the front line of the battle against Covid-19.
Jack told The Star: “I just felt so down about no longer being able to go out and do what I love, performing live. Instantly, I knew that there would be so many people out there feeling the same way as I did.
“This is a particularly difficult time for everyone.”
He worked on the live-streaming idea with his friend Lynne Robertson.
Lynne said: “I’m so sorry for all the musicians out there. However, I thought this was a fantastic opportunity to see if a virtual gig would work. I mentioned the idea to Jack who was keen to try it out.
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Hide Ad“We decided to keep the set-up simple and stream over Facebook. All people have to do is search for Lynne’s Live Lounge, send a friend request and you can see what is being streamed from there. At the end of the day, entertainers just want to keep playing.”
Jack said: “The reaction to the virtual gig was amazing. People were commenting saying how they thought the gig was incredibly inspiring, some found it inspirational and uplifting. One said ‘This is so rewarding, you have completely changed my mood.’
“I have the pleasure of announcing that I will be live streaming another performance this Friday, April 3, at 7:30pm due to popular demand.”
