Rapper Matt "Nur-D" Allen not only saw his upcoming gigs at the Fine Line and Minnesota United's home opener postponed over the past week, he even had to put off his late-April wedding amid the growing coronavirus quarantine.
He's still married to the idea to continue performing, though.
"This is not only hurting musicians financially, it's also affected them emotionally," said the Rosemount-reared rising star, who is helping out on both fronts with a new livestream series he debuted this past Sunday.
Dubbed the Quarantine World Tour, his online gigs feature other guests from the Twin Cities music scene in various studios around town. After hosting pop-rockers Yam Haus on Thursday night, he has fellow Picked to Click poll winners Gully Boys on Saturday and another hip-hop stalwart, Dwynell Roland, on Sunday.
During the webcasts — which alternate between Nur-D's Instagram, Facebook and Twitch accounts — viewers are asked to send money via Venmo to the MN Arts Relief Fund, which will benefit the performers in each case as well as other musicians. The first show raised an impressive $1,200.
Nur-D is so far the most productive of the many Twin Cities musicians not only scrambling to make ends meet by livestreaming gigs, but also simply trying to maintain their creative flow and sanity.
"It'll never replace the thrill of being in front of an audience," he said, "but it helps fill the void in the meantime."
Many other musicians are setting up online gigs to promote their albums available online, or they are simply asking for "tips," which viewers can contribute via Venmo, PayPal or other virtual payment platforms.
Singer/guitarist Terry Walsh of the St. Dominic's Trio and Irish-stewed Belfast Cowboys put a positive spin on losing all their gigs earlier this week: They turned their weekly gig at the Driftwood Char-Bar in south Minneapolis — which coincidentally landed on St. Patrick's Day — into a private session streamed live via Facebook from a studio in West St. Paul.
For added bonus, the Belfast Cowboys recorded the session while also still raising money for Foothold Twin Cities, a charity for local families in need that they support every week at the Driftwood. They hope to continue with more livestreamed performances every Tuesday night.
"I feel like people want to have something to do, and want to be able to do something to help others," Walsh said. "I know we do."
Here's a growing list of scheduled livestream gigs by Minnesota musicians over the next week. We'll continue updating this list as the weeks go on.
Daily
Lydia Liza: The St. Paul singer/songwriter rather entertainingly does movie script readings each night, 8 p.m., Instagram (@LydiaLizaMusic).
Actual Wolf: The Duluth folk- and twang-rocker is playing new songs live each night, 10:15 p.m., Instagram (@ActualWolf).
Thursday, March 19
Nur-D: The rapper hosts rockers Yam Haus in his "Quarantined World Tour," 7-9 p.m., Twitter (@NurDrocks).
Nato Coles & American Dog: The musical duo is performing live from northeast Minneapolis, 8 p.m., Facebook (NatoColes).
Friday, March 20
Drone Not Drones: The 28-hour experimental marathon at the Cedar in January will be shown in full, 7 p.m. start, dronenotdrones.com.
Vicky Emerson: Weekly house concert, every Fri., 7 p.m., Facebook (VickyEmersonMusic).
Kind Country: Turning their scheduled Hook & Ladder gig into a private online set, 9 p.m., Facebook (KindCountryBand).
Saturday, March 21
Loreweavers: Renaissance Festival-ready old world folk, 4 p.m., Instagram (@Loreweavers).
Nur-D: The rapper's Quarantined World Tour benefiting MN Arts Relief continues with guests the Gully Boys, the Bad Man and John Chuck, 6-9 p.m., Facebook (NurDclub).
Gaelyn Lea: The singer/violinist performs live at 7 p.m. and again Sun., 2 p.m., via her YouTube channel.
Timbre Ghost: Singer/songwriter's "Homebound Show," 7 p.m., Instagram (@TimbreGhost) or Facebook (TimbreGhost).
Katy Vernon: Performing live from SolSta Records with Leslie Rich & the Rocket Soul Choir, 7:30 p.m., Facebook (KatyVernonMusic).
Curtiss A & Jerks of Fate: They'll be previewing songs from a new record live, 8 p.m., Facebook (Fans of Curtiss A group page).
KPT: Dark electronica for a weekly series from experimental label Give/Take, 8 p.m., via website givetake.life.
Sunday, March 22
Shutgun Ragtime Band: They plan to webcast their weekly Grateful Sunday gig live from the Driftwood Char-Bar, 6:30 p.m., Facebook (ShotgunRagtimeBand).
Nur-D: With guests Dwynell Roland and Mae Simpson Band, 6 p.m., Facebook (NurDClub).
Ken Valdez: Live performance, 7:30 p.m., Facebook (KenValdezMusic).
Tuesday, March 24
St. Dominic's Trio: The Belfast Cowboys' smaller unit hopes to keep up its Driftwood gigs online every Tuesday to benefit FootholdTwinCities.org, maybe from another location, 8 p.m., Facebook (Birdly).
Wednesday, March 25
Katy Vernon: "Live From Home" with a warning: "Dogs may interrupt," 3 p.m., KatyVernon.com.
Dan Israel: Home concert, 6 p.m., Facebook (DanIsraelMusic).
Joyann Parker: Weekly all-request home show with guitarist Mark Lamoine every Wed., 7 p.m., Facebook (JoyannParker).
Charlie Parr: The folk/blues hero is playing live with a full three-camera production from Duluth Cider, 7 p.m., Facebook (Charlie.Parr.Music).
Thursday, March 26
Annie Fitzgerald: "Live at Lunch Song Circle," noon, Instagram (@AnnieFitzgeraldMusic).
More from all over
Willie Nelson: Hosting a whittled version of his Luck Reunion festival with Nathaniel Rateliff and more, Thu. 7 p.m.-midnight, Facebook, Twitxh or LuckReunion.com.
Brad Paisley: Taking requests live, Thu. 5 p.m. CT, Facebook.
Indigo Girls: Live set and Q&A, Thu. 5 p.m., Facebook.
Ultra Virtual Audio Festival: Major Lazer, Afrojack, Armin van Buuren, Above & Beyond, and more, 4 p.m. Sat., SiriusXM.
Ben Gibbard: Live from home, Sat. 5 p.m. CT, YouTube and Facebook.
Neil Young: Hosting "Fireside Sessions," times TBA, NeilYoungArchives.com.
Bruce Springsteen: His "London Calling: Live in Hyde Park" concert special is now online via YouTube and AppleMusic.
Jack White's Third Man Records: Hosting different sets by its stable of artists daily, noon CT, YouTube.
More: There's an updated list daily at Billboard.com.
Chris Riemenschneider • 612-673-4658
@ChrisRstrib
