In addition to doing new livestreamed performances, some bands have been digging into their archives to stream previous sets while touring is cancelled due to coronavirus, including Radiohead, The Rolling Stones, The National, Metallica, Grateful Dead, and more. Many of those are weekly series, and some have wound down now after running for weeks or months, but here's a new one to keep you occupied while touring isn't happening.
Elton John, who postponed his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour, announced a new "Classic Concert Series." It'll stream on YouTube for six weeks, starting on Friday, July 3 at 12 PM ET, and moving to Saturdays for the following weeks. They'll be raising money for the Elton John Aids Foundation's COVID-19 Emergency Fund.
"My Foundation’s COVID-19 Emergency Fund helps frontline partners prepare for and respond to the pandemic and its effects on HIV prevention and care for the most marginalized communities," Elton says. "We cannot jeopardize HIV testing and care during this time or else the results could be disastrous for the 37.5 million people living with HIV. So, I’m really happy to connect this YouTube Concert series to benefit our Foundation’s urgent COVID response."
Friday's stream is of Elton's show at Edinburgh, Scotland's Playhouse Theatre in 1976. Australia in 1986, Italy in 1089, Brasil in 1995, NYC in 2000 (from Madison Square Garden), and Turkey in 2001 will stream on upcoming Sundays. See the full list of shows, and check out pictures from Elton's 2019 show in Chicago, below.
