Alone Together: NMC’s Top Ten Canadian Livestreams

By: Meaghan Lawrence and Maddie Alvarez

Social distancing is an important part of keeping our community safe, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on great live music.

Canadian artists from all genres have stepped away from their stages and turned to their screens to bring you live shows from their studios, living rooms, and even their basements! Check out some of our favourite live streams so far.

Jann Arden 

Fresh off opening a new personal exhibit at Studio Bell, 2020 Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee Jann Arden took to Facebook for an intimate live set. 

Reuben and The Dark 

NMC hosted Calgary indie-folk act Reuben and The Dark for a one-of-a-kind residency in 2018. Lead singer Reuben Bullock took to Instagram Live on March 18 for a cozy acoustic set.  

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Thank you. That was so special. I couldn’t figure out how to post the whole thing.. this cuts off at 10 minutes. Anyone who wasn’t able to tune in.. it’s still in my stories. I’m also trying to upload it to Facebook now too. Thank you. It’s nice to feel a sense of community with you all. It really is. Sending love. Sending light.

A post shared by reubenandthedark (@reubenandthedark) on Mar 18, 2020 at 7:58pm PDT

Iskwē

Electro-pop artist and Indigenous-rights activist iskwē will be showcasing a new series “Live from my Living Room” on Instagram Live at 5:00 pm MT for the foreseeable future. 

 

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On tonights episode of ‘Live from My Living Room’, I’ll be joined by my dear friend and brilliant performer @hellobegonia! Make sure you tune in to my Instagram Live at 7pm EST – we may or may not be dressed in ballgowns.

A post shared by iskwē (@iskwe) on Mar 19, 2020 at 6:01am PDT

Arkells

Canadian rockers Arkells have been offering play-along music classes to hit tracks like “People’s Champ” and “Don’t Be a Stranger on Instagram. Tune into these classes on their Instagram Live every afternoon.  

 

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“If everybody hunkers down here for the next little bit and is well behaved and does the right thing and does what we’re told, we can get on with the fun”. Chatted with CTV last night about #FTCMusicClass. See you at 1pm on IG live!

A post shared by arkellsmusic (@arkellsmusic) on Mar 17, 2020 at 6:20am PDT

Jim Cuddy

Canadian Music Hall of Famer Jim Cuddy brought the band together for a great cause. This chill afternoon set raised awareness for Canada Performs, a partnership the National Arts Centre and Facebook Canada to pay artists for live online performances during the pandemic.

Measha Brueggergosman 

Toronto-based soprano Measha Brueggergosman is presenting a mini-concert from every night from March 17-22. Tune into her performances on Facebook and support Brueggergosman on her GoFundMe.  

David Foster (with Katherine McPhee)

Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee David Foster is putting his GRAMMY-winning skills to work with a daily concert series on Instagram Live. The “Kat and Dave Show” also features Foster’s wife, actress and songwriter Katharine McPhee. While we’d love to hear these impromptu sets on Foster’s Foundation Grand Piano in the NMC Collection, we’re happy to tune in on Instagram at 6:30 pm MT every day.  

 

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the “Kat and Dave” theme song-so silly but so much fun-c u tomorrow at 5:30pm west coast time-we are planning on it being BROADWAY NITE!!! Whooohoooo!!! Also we are going to play a little game called “ battle of the generations!!!”

A post shared by David Foster (@davidfoster) on Mar 18, 2020 at 7:39pm PDT

Natalie MacMaster 

After a performance in British Columbia was cancelled due to the pandemic, Nova Scotia fiddler Natalie MacMaster took to Twitter. Check out her snippet of fiddle-filled goodness then check out one of fiddle’s in the NMC Collection.  

Show in Duncan, BC was cancelled tonight due to Coronavirus. Here’s a wee tune going out to those who had planned to come to the show and any others who would like to listen. Stay healthy! pic.twitter.com/FQdgNbBGJg

— Natalie MacMaster (@NatMacMaster) March 13, 2020

Rufus Wainwright 

Canadian chanteur Rufus Wainwright will be performing a song a day in his new session series “Robe Recitals” and will be partaking in Global Citizen’s ‘Together at Home’ virtual concert series on Saturday at 9 am MT on Instagram.

 

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Hi everyone! In these dire times, I want to share some music with you all from the warmth and comfort of our home in Los Angeles. Hopefully you’re at your homes with your loved ones as well. We have to stay positive and I feel that music and art are a large part of what gets us through times like these. It’s even more essential to be reminded about what it really means to be human: compassionate, caring, creative. From now on, until the end of this isolation, I will record a song a day, so this is officially DAY 1 of #SongADay! We are notching up the #RobeRecitals and #MusicalMondays to #MusicalEverydays! And today’s song is: Grey Gardens! Sending all our love. Stay safe and please remember, the more we stick to the rules of isolating ourselves, the more we can slow the spread of the virus down. ❤️

A post shared by Rufus Wainwright (@rufuswainwright) on Mar 17, 2020 at 12:34pm PDT

Diplo with Rhye

You’re likely already familiar with super-producer Diplo from any dancefloor you’ve ever been on. This week, he gave us a sneak peek of his session with Toronto R&B vocalist and Calgary Folk Fest fave Rhye at the first of his “Corona Sabbath” sessions. Check out the audio from the full set on Soundcloud.

 

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last night i invited @rhye over for the first corona sabbath. (We made that up because we we had iron on t-shirt letters.. maybe it will stick) . While we’re all in self imposed quarantine and I’m grounded from playing shows I am going to get creative and make up random sets and shows live from my house. up next sunday 3pm et @majorlazer… our albums done so we got a lot of new music…tune in on it live and @youtube #socialdistancing

A post shared by Thomas Wesley (@diplo) on Mar 14, 2020 at 11:26am PDT

Can’t get enough? Here are a few that we’re looking forward to this week.

• Polaris Prize winner, Indigenous rights activist and 2018 Artist in Residence Jeremy Dutcher will livestream a performance inspired by his since cancelled spring tour on Facebook on March 20.
• Edmonton’s own Calvin Love will be performing his cool, lo-fi tunes every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday for your viewing pleasure on Instagram Live at 3:00 pm MT. 

For more performances, check out CBC Music’s updated listings for upcoming livestreams and more.