The Best Livestream Concerts This Week

We usually share lists of the upcoming concerts scheduled for New York City and Los Angeles, but there haven’t been too many of those lately since the coronavirus outbreak has forced artists to cancel shows. That said, there’s still live music, it’s just different than it usually is: Several artists have started performing live stream concerts from their homes, allowing fans to tune in to free shows online and pass the time with these virtual gigs.

These newly popular types of performances yielded some memorable moments lately and will likely continue to do so. Below, check out a list of the best upcoming live stream performances, and below that, find our recap of the finest shows that have already happened.

Updated: October 26, 2020

Coming up

• D-Nice: Regularly on Instagram.
• HBCU Homecoming Celebration (Khalid and HER): Thursday, November 12 on YouTube.
• Metallica: Saturday, November 14 at 5 p.m. ET on Nugs.tv.
• The National: Mondays at 5 p.m. ET on YouTube.
• Neil Young: Semi-regularly, TBA.
• Niall Horan: Saturday, November 7 via Niall Horan.
• The Strokes (5guys talking about things they know nothing about): Regularly, TBA
• Tegan And Sara: Thursdays at 6 p.m. ET on Instagram.

—

Indie Mixtape Sessions

March to May: Indie Mixtape hosted a series of live stream performances in partnership with a number of esteemed indie acts. We have featured sets from Cloud Nothings, Ellis, Ryan Pollie, Diet Cig, and Disq over on our Instagram.

Chance The Rapper

September 14: The most interesting livestream concerts have been broadcast from unconventional venues, and Chance decided to give his first live digital performance at the flagship Ralph Lauren store in Chicago.

Dominic Fike

September 12: Many livestream performances are only a handful of songs long, but Fike went the distance and busted out a 16-song set. Furthermore, he did so in Fortnite, an appropriately unconventional setting for the boundary-pushing artist.

Brandy And Monica Verzuz

August 31: The Verzuz series has remained one of the strongest forces in livestream quarantine entertainment, and they got a pair of legends for an installment. Brandy and Monica brought out all the stops, including a guest spot from Kamala Harris.

Tomorrowland

July 25 to 26: Tomorrowland couldn’t happen in-person this year, but the festival pressed on with a virtual event online. They still bagged a big lineup, though, featuring Katy Perry, Steve Aoki, Afrojack, and a ton of others.

The Roots Picnic 2020

June 27: Questlove, Black Thought, and company usually host their annual festival IRL, but that had to move the proceedings online this year. They still secured a rock-solid lineup, though, which included Roddy Ricch, Lil Baby, G Herbo, and HER, as well as Michelle Obama co-hosting.

Can’t Cancel Pride

https://www.instagram.com/p/CB4PRulAp7Q/

June 25: June was Pride Month, although the ongoing pandemic threw a wrench in some of the celebrations. Not all of them, though: iHeartRadio’s “Can’t Cancel Pride” livestream features Katy Perry, Big Freedia, Kim Petras, Sia, and others.

All In WA

June 24: Coronavirus relief events are popping up more and more frequently, and this Washington-centric one featured Ben Gibbard, Pearl Jam, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Sleater-Kinney, and a bunch of others.

Small Business Live

June 20: Black-owned businesses have received some love recently in light of everything happening in the country, and banding together to help them out with their musical talents were Brittany Howard, 2 Chainz, and others.

Alicia Keys and John Legend

June 19: All the Versuz battles have been a highlight of live stream entertainment (although they’re usually not combative in nature, as the title might suggest). Two modern legends hooked up for the latest one, sharing their storied discographies with each other and their fans.

Democracy Summer 2020

June 18: Musicians have encouraged their fans to vote maybe now recently more than ever, and Katy Perry, The Black Eyed Peas, Saweetie, Big Freedia, Ne-Yo, and more helped the cause with a live stream Rock The Vote concert.

BTS

June 14: The beloved K-pop group finally got in on the live stream phenomenon, and of course, it was a record-breaking event.

Dear Class Of 2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxpTjcouaeQ

June 6: Most graduating seniors didn’t get to have formal ceremonies this year, but YouTube stepped up to give them a special event. Dear Class Of 2020 featured performances and/or speeches from Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Megan Thee Stallion, Lady Gaga, BTS, and a whole host of others.

Sturgill Simpson

https://www.instagram.com/p/CA-4dT6FJov/?utm_source=ig_embed

June 5: Fans can’t visit concert venues right now, but that didn’t stop Sturgill Simpson from performing in one. He hosted a livestream concert from the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, which is likely the last fans will get to see of that space for a while.

Waxahatchee

June 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29: Katie Crutchfield has built up a nice discography in recent years, and she has decided to honor it with a series of live streams, in which she will perform all five of them. She kicked things off with American Weekend on June 1, and will wrap up at the end of the month with her latest, Saint Cloud.

Gunna

May 30: Before the death of George Floyd, Gunna had been planning a livestream performance in celebration of his new album, Wunna. Instead of canceling the show, he proceeded as planned, and gave all proceeds from it to Floyd’s family.

Safe And Sound (Matt Berninger, Grouplove, and more)

May 19: The National leader and others got together (virtually) to perform for Safe Place For Youth, whose “mission is to inspire, nurture, and empower the resilient human spirit of homeless youth by providing immediate and lasting solutions, one young person at a time.”

Haim

https://twitter.com/HAIMtheband/status/1260618765743480838

May 17, 24, 31, and June 7: In lieu of a live stream concert (although they’ve been on late-night TV a lot lately), Haim have decided to host virtual dance classes based on their choreographed videos. Odds are this will be the last opportunity fans will have to learn dance routines from the Haim sisters.

Block By Blockwest

May 16: Viewership greater than the festival could handle caused a delay, but the Minecraft-hosted festival eventually managed to take place. Performing in the digital environment were acts like Pussy Riot, Idles, and others.

Tekashi 69

May 8: While this wasn’t a live stream concert, Tekashi’s first live stream since his release from prison must be mentioned, since it absolutely shattered the all-time record for viewers of an Instagram Live broadcast.

The 1975 Tribute Concert

https://twitter.com/Truman_Black/status/1257764646767001600

May 7: The 1975 have become one of indie’s most beloved groups in recent years, and they were honored in a live stream featuring covers from Phoebe Bridgers, Clairo, and others.

Love From Philly Live

May 3: Live stream festivals have been popping up during this coronavirus pandemic, and one of the latest was held to benefit musicians. Love From Philly Live featured performances from The War On Drugs, Kurt Vile (a member of The War On Drugs once upon a time), and others.

Three 6 Mafia’s DJ Paul and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s Krayzie Bone

April 30: Three 6 Mafia and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony are two of hip-hop’s most storied acts, and one member from each hopped on an Instagram Live session to pit their hits against each other. It wasn’t a combative event, though, but instead a celebration of the huge legacies of two huge acts.

Offset, Saint Jhn, Rich The Kid, and Young Thug

https://twitter.com/ThuggerDaily/status/1255684569581391878

April 29: Offset decided to get creative by hosting his live stream concert in virtual reality, and he was joined by Saint Jhn, Rich The Kid, and Young Thug. Aside from the music, the event brought the stunning revelation that Thug was once apparently very near death.

PlayOn

April 24 to April 26: Concerts are a thing of the past/future right now, but the PlayOn Fest live stream changed that for one weekend. The streaming event presented concert footage (some of which was rare) from artists like Cardi B, Ed Sheeran, and so many others.

People’s Party Live with ASAP Ferg

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_U9lCxA6iP/

April 24: Uproxx’s own People’s Party podcast recently started hosting a live edition, and the latest guest was ASAP Ferg. He stopped by to discuss ASAP Mob’s impact on hip-hop music and fashion, what he’s been up to during quarantine, and more.

Post Malone

April 24: Posty’s first live stream performance was a Nirvana tribute set, which earned the approval of Courtney Love beforehand. For the set, Malone was joined by Travis Barker, and the show included covers like “Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle,” “Drain You,” “Come As You Are.”

Willie Nelson

April 20: There’s no way Willie Nelson was going to let 4/20 slip by without doing something special. So, he put on a huge live stream show with Kacey Musgraves, Matthew McConaughey, Tommy Chong, and other icons.

Together At Home

April 18: Lady Gaga’s star-studded benefit live stream concert went off without a hitch. In addition to some killer performances, the event ended up raising over $125 million.

Robyn

April 17: Robyn can dance just about anywhere, which is a vital skill during these times of self-isolation. She helped others do the same during her live streamed DJ set, creating impromptu dancefloors in the homes of viewers everywhere.

Diddy

April 12: Diddy hosted a dance-a-thon, and given his stature in the music world, some big-time guests showed up during his live stream: Lizzo came on the show and got some twerking in, and Drake spoke with Diddy about his next album.

Angel Olsen

April 11: Olsen hosted a paid livestream performance to benefit the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Effort and her own touring crew, and those who watched the performance were treated to some brand new songs.

DJ Premier and RZA

April 11: Two hip-hop legends linked up for the latest in a series of DJ battles, and the two played some of their legendary creations. They also gave some insights into hip-hop history, including some details about the origins of Wu-Tang Clan.

Fenty Social Club Party

https://twitter.com/_barzdalyricist/status/1248769992557907968

April 10: Rihanna hopped on Instagram to celebrate the release of her new Fenty clothing line, and the festivities got fun quickly. Highlights included Rihanna getting into a dance-off with Lil Uzi Vert and Rihanna scolding viewers for asking about her next album.

Lil Jon and T-Pain

April 5: Artists have been squaring off on live streams lately, putting their best material up against each other for the benefit of their viewers. Lil Jon and T-Pain hosted a live stream, and most notably during it, Lil Jon previewed a new collaboration with Usher and Ludacris.

Quavo’s birthday

April 2: Quavo just turned 29 years old, and a traditional birthday party isn’t exactly an option right now. Instead, Migos celebrated by hosting a livestream where they played some of their classic songs, as well as some unreleased tunes.

Fader Fort

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Ztqsmj48R/

March 31 and April 1: Fader usually hosts a concert event at SXSW, but since that was canceled this year, they took the party online for a virtual two-day event. Participating artists included Finneas, Aminé, Earthgang, Porches, and a bunch of others.

Ben Gibbard

March 29: Death Cab For Cutie leader Ben Gibbard has so far led the charge when it comes to quarantine live streams, but on Sunday, he hosted the last one and sent the series off with covers of Neil Young, R.E.M., and others. No need to fret, though: While the daily series is going away, Gibbard has promised live streams once a week for “every week into the foreseeable future as long as people are quarantined.”

The-Dream and Sean Garrett

March 28: Following his beat battle with Timbaland, Swizz Beats decided to give songwriters a moment to shine, so he hosted a face-off between two of today’s finest. The main takeaway from the songwriter battle between The-Dream and Sean Garrett is that those two have had their hands in a lot of big songs from artists like Kanye West, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Rihanna, Usher, and others.

Twitch Stream Aid

March 28: Twitch is set-up to shine in a time when live streams are as popular as ever, and they delivered this weekend. Their “Twitch Stream Aid” benefit show had a huge lineup that featured Diplo, Lauv, Charlie Puth, Die Antwoord, Barry Gibb, Kevin Gates, Jordin Sparks, Michael McDonald, Steve Aoki, Scotty McCreery, MonstaX, and Mxmtoon, as well as members of Cage The Elephant, The Chainsmokers, Bastille, The Head And The Heart, Silversun Pickups, The Lumineers, OneRepublic, Mt. Joy, Empire Of The Sun, X Ambassadors, and Young The Giant.

TikTok #HappyAtHome: Sound Check

March 27: TikTok has been keeping shortform video viewers entertained with a packed week of programming, but Friday was for the music fans. The lineup for the “Sound Check” day of #HappyAtHome included Alicia Keys, Jason Derulo, Megan Thee Stallion, Hailee Steinfeld, Troye Sivan, Meghan Trainor, DJ Khaled, Lauv, Yungblud, and Kelsea Ballerini.

Boi-1da And Hit-Boy

March 27: Hit-Boy and Boi-1da are two terrific producers to have square off in an Instagram beat battle, and that’s partially because of their willingness to show off their works in progress. Aside from their hits, the livestream also teased new material from Drake, Big Sean, Nipsey Hussle, and others.

Dirty Projectors

March 27: Dirty Projectors dropped a new EP, Windows Open, on Friday, so band members Dave Longstreth and Maia Friedman decided to celebrate with a live stream. Although the pair was in separate cities for the broadcast, it went off without a hitch as the two performed a set featuring the four new tracks, as well as some covers and tracks from the band’s catalog.

300 Entertainment “Unplugged”

March 26: 300 Entertainment is one of the biggest labels in music, and now they’re hoping to similarly position themselves in the new world of live stream concerts with their virtual “Unplugged” show. The series “[originated] from live stripped-down, spontaneous sessions at 300 Entertainment co-founder and CEO Kevin Liles’ hotel lobbies throughout the years,” and the first one was led by singer/songwriter Cobi. 300 has a stacked artist roster, so keep an eye on this series.

Swizz Beats and Timbaland

https://twitter.com/Demdooma/status/1242677757571670017

March 24: Two of hip-hop’s biggest production titans hopped on an Instagram Live session to face off and remind fans how great their respective discographies are. Between Swizz and Timbaland, they played songs like Ginuwine’s “Pony,” Beyonce’s “Drunk In Love,” Ne-Yo’s “Make Me Better,” Drake’s “Fancy,” DMX’s “Party (Up In Here),” Jay-Z’s “On To The Next One,” and so many more.

Orville Peck

March 23: Masked singer Orville Peck let viewers into his home during his live stream, but he wasn’t about to pull the curtain back on the mystery that is him. The live stream was in celebration of the one-year anniversary of his latest album, Pony, and highlights from the set included a new song called “Summertime” and a tribute to the recently deceased Kenny Rogers via a cover of “Islands In The Stream.”

Courtney Barnett

March 22 and 23: “Courtney Barnett And Lucius & Friends” took place all around the world, and Barnett wrangled some great guests for the two days of program. Stopping by the shows were Sheryl Crow, Nathaniel Rateliff, Lukas Nelson, Fred Armisen, Emily King, Sharon Van Etten, Bedouine, Jonathan Wilson, Waxahatchee, Kevin Morby, and Kurt Vile.

Charli XCX

https://www.instagram.com/p/B94jrBWHagY/

March 18 to 22: Charli has taken a different path with her livestreams: Instead of music performances, she has brought on a number of guests for a variety of programming. For example, last week, she hosted an art class with Clairo, played “Would You Rather” with Kim Petras, and had “An Emo Chat” with Christine And The Queens.

Ben Gibbard

March 15 to 21: The Death Cab For Cutie leader has been one of the most active livestreamers so far, as he is in the midst of a series of daily performances. This past week saw Gibbard cover Radiohead and New Order, as well as perform some material from his other most notable musical endeavor, The Postal Service.

Erykah Badu

March 19: Badu hosted an “interactive live stream experience” this past weekend, which allowed fans (who paid the $1 entry fee) to not only watch Badu perform from her bedrom, but also help build the setlist.

D-Nice

March 18: The hip-hop icon hosted “Club Quarantine” editions of his weekly “Home School” live stream this weekend, and the list of celebrities who popped in during the show speaks for itself: Michelle Obama, Alicia Keys, Diddy, Oprah, Will Smith, Missy Elliott, Janet Jackson, Common, John Legend, Big Daddy Kane, Mariah Carey, Spike Lee, Donnie Wahlberg, Brandy, Quincy Jones, Timbaland, Usher, Questlove, Jadakiss, and Raekwon, among many others.

Charlie Puth

March 18: Charlie Puth was one of the artists who carried on the Chris Martin-launched “Together At Home” series. Puth sat at his home piano and busted out a number of songs, including “Attention,” “One Call Away,” and “See You Again.”

Jeff Rosenstock and more

March 17: Record label/shop Specialist Subject hosted a night of music from a jam-packed indie lineup, with was led by Jeff Rosenstock and also featured AJJ, RVIVR’s Erica Freas, and others.

Chris Martin of Coldplay

March 16: Martin is the one who kicked off the “Together At Home” live stream concert series, which has gone on to feature performances from artists like Charlie Puth and John Legend. For Martin’s performance, he busted out some Coldplay favorites and a David Bowie cover, and also answered questions from Instagram Live viewers.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. .