As the world continues to advocate social distancing (at the very least), many artists from across the globe have taken to the internet to ensure that fans still have access to live music.

With the number of online live performances only set to increase, we’ve pulled together some handy tips on how to find out what is going on, as well as collating some of our favourites from the last few days.

Across all of these streams, the sense of community remains strong, whilst offering a very personal insight into the world of the artist. With added raw magic, it’s the kind of genuine human connection we are all longing for.

Coming up: The best live streams this week

Updated: 22 September 2020

Here are some of the best live streams confirmed to take place over the coming days.

All times are BST, and subject to change. Please note not all are live performances – this list also includes archived footage, masterclasses, gaming streams, well-being , DJ sets and more.

Monday 21 September 2020

Artist: Cold Waves w/ Meat Beat Manifesto, The Young Gods, Chris Connelly, Ash Code, Severed Heads + more

Time: 01:00

Where to watch: Twitch

Tuesday 22 September 2020

Artist: Boney Junes

Time: 19:00

Where to watch: Instagram

Thursday 24 September 2020

Artist: Sylvan Esso

Time: 23:00

Where to watch: YouTube

Artist: Philly Music Fest w/ Japanese Breakfast, The Districts + more

Time: 23:59

Where to watch: More info

Friday 25 September 2020

Artist: Thao Nguyen (Thao & The Get Down Stay Down)

Time: 03:00

Where to watch: YouTube

Artist: Wild Nothing

Time: 20:00

Where to watch: Twitch

Artist: Around The Campfire w/ Baby Grill, gobbinjr + Oceanator

Time: 23:59

Where to watch: Twitch

Artist: Philly Music Fest w/ Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Langhorne Slim + more

Time: 23:59

Where to watch: More info

Saturday 26 September 2020

Artist: Montery Jazz Festival w/ Herbie Hancock, Diana Krall, Dianne Reeves, Jamie Cullum + more

Time: 01:00

Where to watch: YouTube

Artist: Pitchfork w/ Angel Olsen, Blood Orange, Carly Rae Jepsen, Danny Brown, Grimes, LCD Soundsystem, Perfume Genius, Robyn, Run the Jewels + more

Time: 23:59

Where to watch: More info

Sunday 27 September 2020

Artist: Farm Aid w/ Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Dave Matthews, Chris Stapleton, Margo Price + more

Time: 01:00

Where to watch: YouTube

Artist: Montery Jazz Festival w/ Herbie Hancock, Diana Krall, Dianne Reeves, Jamie Cullum + more

Time: 01:00

Where to watch: YouTube

Artist: Frazey Ford

Time: 19:00

Where to watch: More info

Artist: Scarypoolparty

Time: 20:00

Where to watch: More info

JUST ANNOUNCED: Join @scarypoolparty as he performs live at The Wiltern in Los Angeles from the best seat in your house. Tix >> https://t.co/QIbBr4kVzt pic.twitter.com/egC4cTLbGs — ticketmasteruk (@TicketmasterUK) September 18, 2020

Monday 28 September 2020

Artist: Montery Jazz Festival w/ Herbie Hancock, Diana Krall, Dianne Reeves, Jamie Cullum + more

Time: 01:00

Where to watch: YouTube

Tuesday 29 September 2020

Artist: Boney Junes

Time: 19:00

Where to watch: Instagram

Wednesday 30 September 2020

Artist: George Ducas

Time: 01:00

Where to watch: Facebook

Thursday 1 October 2020

Artist: Melanie C

Time: 20:00

Where to watch: More info

https://twitter.com/TicketmasterUK/status/1295633426243035138

Friday 2 October 2020

Artist: Venus Fest w/ Lido Pimienta, Hand Habits + Ansley Simpson

Time: 01:00

Where to watch: YouTube

Artist: Tom Grennan

Time: 20:30

Where to watch: More info

ON SALE NOW: @Tom_Grennan plays a very special virtual show, streamed live from @o2academybrix via @melodyvirtual. Expect never-seen-before material, big surprises and the best view in the house, guaranteed. Tickets 👉 https://t.co/Xl3klLc9j9 pic.twitter.com/BrtncgqASG — ticketmasteruk (@TicketmasterUK) September 16, 2020

Artist: Corey Taylor

Time: 22:00

Where to watch: More info

Join @CoreyTaylorRock for a monumental global streaming event from the legendary @theforum in Los Angeles on Friday 2nd October at 10pm! He'll be performing his new album 'CMFT' in full as well as @slipknot and @stonesour tracks 🤘 Book tix 👉 https://t.co/4dTo2x6Okh pic.twitter.com/wqcyHEjvSN — Live Nation UK (@LiveNationUK) September 15, 2020

Saturday 3 October 2020

Artist: Venus Fest w/ U.S. Girls, Black Belt Eagle Scout + more

Time: 01:00

Where to watch: YouTube

Wednesday 7 October 2020

Artist: Bird On The Wire: The Songs Of Leonard Cohen

Time: 20:00

Where to watch: More info

Artist: Fenne Lily

Time: 23:00

Where to watch: YouTube

Thursday 10 October 2020

Artist: Ward Thomas

Time: 20:00

Where to watch: More info

Announcement! Read below, see below!!! Eeeeeek below !!! 😁😁😁😁 pic.twitter.com/yErmjn2dqP — Ward Thomas (@wardthomasmusic) September 3, 2020

Thursday 15 October 2020

Artist: Boston Manor

Time: 20:00

Where to watch: More info

Artist: Glass Animals

Time: 20:00

Where to watch: More info

Saturday 31 October 2020

Artist: Tomorrow’s Ghost Festival Virtually Halloween w/ Saigon Blue Rain, ‘Bram Stoker’s Whitby’ with Dacre Stoker, Dead Sexy with Violet Fenn + more

Time: 10:00 – 01:00

Where to watch: More info

How to find the best live stream gigs

A vast number of websites, social media platforms, artists, venues and record labels have been quick to turn to online live-streaming.

Follow the artist

If you don’t already, now is the time to follow your favourite artist on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and more. The most direct way of finding out if an artist is preparing for a unique online gig is directly from the horse’s mouth. Keep reading for some great examples of things that have already happened.

Follow the record label

If the music you love seems to be coming from a small number of record labels, follow them too. Independent label Specialist Subject – for example – recently brought together the likes of Jeff Rosenstock, AJJ and more for a global live-stream spectacular. Plenty more have and will follow suit.

Follow your favourite venues

A number of venues are hosting their own series of live-streamed events, including Liverpool’s Jimmy’s. Starting with The Amazons’ Matt Thomson, the venue aims to host a unique show every night at 9PM until further notice. Tune in on their Instagram page.

Check out dedicated websites and news sites

Dedicated sites are emerging listing many of the online live-streaming gigs set to take place. Two of these include WhoNeeds.live and Stay At Home Festival, both creating comprehensive calendars of live-stream events. Brooklyn Vegan are also regularly posting lists of live-streaming gigs.

Rolling Stone have announced their In My Room IGTV series, kicking off with Brian Wilson and scheduled to take place every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 19:00 (GMT). Check it out on their Instagram.

In the wake of the cancelled SWSX Festival in Austin, Texas, PRS For Music, AIM, BBC, PPL, BPI, DIY and more have held closed-door sessions at The Mill Studio in London, so keep an eye out for those, too.

Glasgow based artists has teamed up to launch Music For The Isolated Generation, a series a live shows happening through Facebook.

There’s also Corona Concerts, a Facebook group dedicated to independent and DIY artists and a place to share any and all live-stream gigs, and Isolate Live – who are hosting a series of live shows.

This is just scratching the surface. Many more online live events are expected to appear over the coming weeks, with more and more announced each day.

Some of the best live-stream gigs so far

iHeart Living Room Concert for America

Hosted by Elton John, the likes of Billie Eilish, Dave Grohl, Alicia Keys, Lizzo, Camila Cabello, Backstreet Boys, Tim McGraw, Billie Joe Armstrong, Sam Smith, and more all streamed live performances from their homes to raise funds for emergency services workers.

Camilla Cabello and Shawn Mendes

The real-life couple promoted social distancing with a special collaborative set filmed in their back garden, chatting to fans and performing hits such as Lost In Japan, Havana, and Señorita.

James Blake

Sat at his piano, James Blake treated fans to a beautiful hour of live music intertwining his own material with covers of tracks from artists such as Joni Mitchell, Billie Eilish, Radiohead, and Frank Ocean.

NPR’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert Series

NPR have revamped their world-famous Tiny Desk concert series with a brand new at-home edition. Soccer Mommy kicked things off performing tracks from her latest record Colour Theory.

Coldplay’s Chris Martin

On Monday Coldplay’s Chris Martin announced on Instagram: “If anyone feels like chatting and listening to some music, I’m going to do a livestream on the Coldplay Instagram.” He goes on to explain that the band are currently stuck in different countries and that he’ll be taking requests in the comments. So check out Sky Full Of Stars, Trouble, Viva La Vida and more.

Watch on Instagram

Keith Urban

Country star Keith Urban streamed live from his warehouse in Nashville with lots of guitars and amps in the background, giving it that extra bit of true rock n roll. The singer was meant to perform in Houston that same night but the show was postponed due to the current situation. During the 30-minute set you can catch Nicole Kidman dancing along and having the best time.

P!nk

P!nk not only gave us an amazing acoustic performance from her home but also a bit of a piano lesson. She covers Adele’s Make You Feel My Love, and does so absolutely stunningly. If you want to get goosebumps for about three minutes, watch her live stream below.

Watch on Instagram

John Legend

No pants but all the vocal goodness comes courtesy of John Legend as he picks up Chris Martin’s #TogetherAtHome challenge, captioning his hour-long set with: “Social distancing is important, but that doesn’t mean it has to be boring. I did a little at-home performance to help lift your spirits”. Not to forget, Chrissy Teigen let her followers pick her outfit for the performance and you’ll never guess what it is.

Christine And The Queens

Coming at you hot from Christine And The Queens is not one but a series of live streams the artist is hosting every day at 10pm (GMT) with “guests and weird concepts” for in-studio-sets at Ferber Studios in Paris. The first set saw her perform her latest single People, I’ve Been Sad.

Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard

Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard had plans for a solo tour next month which has been postponed, so instead every day at 11pm (GMT) he’ll be giving you a new solo set from his home studio. For the first performance Ben covered Radiohead’s Fake Plastic Trees and treated us to Death Cab’s own Crooked Teeth.

Yungblud

Yungblud turned live streaming into an art by creating The Yungblud Show with guests Machine Gun Kelly, Bella Thorne and Oliver Tree. In-between sets at The Beehive studios in California, Yungblud took questions from fans across the world, creating his own punk rock version of a Saturday night talkshow.

U2’s Bono

U2’s Bono didn’t just broadcast a set, he premiered a whole new song as a St Patrick’s Day gift that he composed in an hour, stating: “A little tune, made up here about an hour ago. I think it’s called Let Your Love Be Known – let me know what you think.” He captioned the video with: “For the Italians who inspired [the song]… for the Irish… for ANYONE who this St. Patrick’s day is in a tight spot and still singing. For the doctors, nurses, carers on the front line, it’s you we’re singing to.”

Code Orange

Celebrating their hugely acclaimed Underneath LP release, and forced to cancel their highly anticipated album release show, Pittsburgh metallers Code Orange went ahead with their show, only without an audience. The whole face-melting thing can be found on Twitch.

Meditation with Lizzo

Besides live streamed sets, there’s also a handful of artists keeping us sane with meditation, guitar lessons or mental health talks. Queen Lizzo is leading the pack with the meditation session we never knew we needed. Captioned a “meditation and mantra to promote healing during this global crisis. Use at your own pace. Love you!”, the video sees Lizzo playing the flute, giving us inspirational talks and guiding us in meditation. We are going to play this on repeat every day, thank you Lizzo!

Chatting mental health with Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus has set up a series of live streams with Dr Amen talking about staying positive in dark times and how to support your mental health. “Let’s talk about negative thoughts and we can stop ourselves being eating alive by the ants”, she says opening the broadcasting session.

Watch on Instagram

Learning guitar with Arkells

Canadian rock outfit Arkells are teaching their fans how to play guitar. Frontman Max Kerman noted jokingly: “It’s not rocket science what we do”. Having previously posted the tablature to various of their tracks, the band are now live streaming lessons, too.

For more live-streams from across the world of entertainment, be sure to follow the steps above. Engage with artists, labels and venues across social media for more.