Virtual concerts give life to local musicians for a great cause
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Four artists. 30 minutes each. Once per week. That's the lineup for the virtual venue, "Friday FB Live Concert Series."
It started when Dan Gallagher, a musician from Chalfont, PA, felt a longing for live music to come back to his life. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, all venues across the board left artists like him without a place to perform for a living.
Now, his weekly Facebook concerts on Friday nights from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm help these artists stay on their feet. Through a Venmo donation page, @FridayFBLiveConcertSeries, spectators can make donations. Each musician keeps 75% of the funds, while the rest is directed towards a charity of their choice.
So far, the group raised enough money to provide personal protective equipment to frontline workers and has made donations to Hospitality Assistance Response of Pennsylvania and Feeding America.
The experience has given each artist a new outlook on their own talents, along with expanding their social circles.
"Musicians are interpreters of what happens in society," said James Michael Baker, a musician who goes by the name, "Rumi Kitchen." "There are things around us that are much bigger than we are right now...Singing a song about it brings the magic of reflection to it. And I think a lot of us are doing a lot of self-reflection right now."
With a whole summer's worth of tour dates canceled, Baker is thankful that Friday FB Live Concert Series is bringing some musical connection back into his life.
To learn more about the project or to donate, visit the Facebook page.
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