Liveurope Online Festival aims to give music scene a shot in the arm

Liveurope Online Festival aims to give music scene a shot in the arm

An EU-supported live music initiative is to hold its first festival since the pandemic.

But there will be one key difference: it will be completely online.

Liveurope Online Festival will feature artists playing at 16 venues across Europe on the 24 and 25 September.

With concert halls either empty or open to just a limited number of fans, Liveurope’s ambitious project has been welcomed by artists.

“It feels good,” said Belgian singer Charlotte Adigry. “It’s like sparkling water that we shake and then we can’t open it and when it opens PSSSSHHHHHHH. That’s how I feel.”

But behind the pleasure of returning to the stage, there is still something missing for the artists.

“I’m very happy that we can play, but at the same time, it’s not the same as before,” Boris Pupul, another singer in the Charlotte Adigry band, told Euronews.

“There are no other artists. There’s only one dressing room and it’s just the two of us here. It’s very strange. I’m a little sad too, but at the same time, I’m happy to be able to perform at a concert here on stage. But it still feels a bit weird.”

One of Liveurope’s aims is to support concert venues in their efforts to promote up-and-coming European artists, which is the main objective of this weekend’s online event.

“Since 2014, we have, thanks to our collaboration, been able to really see the impact of this start-up fund that Europe has brought us. Together, we have succeeded with all our venues in increasing the number of emerging European artists who tour in our theatres every year,” Elise Phamgia, Liveurope’s general coordinator said.