When the pandemic hit back in March day to day life changed so much. It changed the way we socialize, the way we work and the way we consume live music. In the early months of the pandemic, I started playing online poker with my friends. It was weird for me at first. I had never hung out with my friends on video chat before but after a few poker nights it felt almost normal.

Will the same go for live music? Going to live shows has been a habit of mine for many years but now but with obvious restrictions I have not been to a live show since January. The pandemic has been especially hard for musicians and live venues. Some musicians and venues have chosen to give live streaming a try.

Live stream concerts have become more frequent in recent months with the end of the pandemic very much unclear. The Rickshaw, The Commodore and The Vogue are just a few venues that have hosted live streaming events.

I work at a rehearsal studio in East Vancouver and earlier this year in the summer, we hosted alternative country artist Orville Peck who was rehearsing for his live stream show at the Vogue. We also hosted some performances for a local online folk music festival and we’ve even had a handful of local bands host their live streams from the studio.

I recognize the importance of live stream shows to help provide some much needed income for musicians and the venues hosting them but will live streaming catch on? I don’t know. Personally I am more likely to watch videos of older performances than I am to watch a live stream but this doesn’t mean I don’t check them out. I still think it’s important to support live music through these difficult times until live shows returns.