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While the coronavirus pandemic is causing shutdowns, cancellations and postponements in the music industry, it’s also causing people to rediscover their love of music.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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By SAVANNAH KENNEDY and MADISON POINDEXTER<\/strong><\/p>\n Concert venues are quiet, but melodies are still drifting<\/span>\u00a0through headphones as the country practices social distancing. Avid music lover Tara Souders listens to her favorite songs nearly all day – a change from before the pandemic when she only listened to music while driving.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMusic is making this hard time a little easier,\u201d Souders, an Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, resident,\u00a0said. \u201cAs I\u2019m listening to songs, I relate lyrics to what I\u2019m personally going through and what I\u2019m feeling while in isolation.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The 21-year-old is one of many people heading online for entertainment during the quarantine. Although music venues and festivals are facing possible shutdowns, postponements and cancellations, musicians are finding new ways to virtually connect with fans on social media.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat we\u2019ve been able to do is share music,\u201d said 70-year-old Jonathan McClellan, bassist and music director of local band Miko\u2019s Promise. \u201cWe\u2019ve been sending videos to each other; a lot of folks are doing livestreaming.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n McClellan, who lives in Eastover, said music is his \u201clifeline,\u201d and he\u2019s impressed with how musicians have embraced the changes brought on by the stay-at-home order.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Along with social media, streaming apps like Spotify and Apple Music are a popular tool for people who want to keep up with recent releases and expand their music taste. 21-year-old Columbia resident Ever Collette said Spotify\u2019s Discover Weekly playlist and \u201cFans Also Like\u201d feature have helped her find different sounds than the \u201cupbeat, exciting dance music\u201d she typically listens to.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m getting tired of listening to the same stuff,\u201d Collette said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In an effort to diversify her music library, she\u2019s been testing the waters in new genres and listening to artists\u2019 full discographies. Bands like Blind Melon, No Doubt and Nirvana are now in her heavy rotation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always liked rock music, and I grew up listening to it with my parents, but I\u2019ve been diving deeper into it recently,\u201d Collette said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n People are not only listening to different music, but they are using music in different ways. Christina Cronin of Worcester, Massachusetts, used to only listen to music in her car, but now the 21-year-old college student<\/span> <\/b>listens to music throughout her day since she has nowhere to go. She spends hours at home exploring artists like the Beatles and All Time Low.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m trying to listen to music that I otherwise wouldn\u2019t listen to, or people that I\u2019ve wanted to listen to but haven\u2019t really had the time,\u201d Cronin said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n University of South Carolina student Megan Lieb said music used to distract her while studying, but it now helps her stay focused on assignments at home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSurprisingly, I\u2019ve been listening to a lot of EDM and musical soundtracks,\u201d Lieb, 21, said. \u201c\u2018Hairspray\u2019 and \u2018Mamma Mia\u2019 are great.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n While some people are deliberately seeking taste-breaking genres, others are stumbling upon new music that compliments what they already enjoy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI still listen to the same genres, but there are a few new artists I\u2019ve been listening to nonstop recently,\u201d Adrianna Hadloc, a 22-year-old University of South Carolina student, said. \u201cDoja Cat is one of my new favorites.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Musicians are using their free time to share music and create songs in ways they normally wouldn\u2019t have before. Instead of preparing for weekly rehearsals and shows, McClellan said he\u2019s \u201csponging up new ideas.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a germination period, or incubator period,\u201d McClellan said. \u201cI think that my feeling is that when we\u2019re finally able to bust out again, there will just be all of this pent-up creative energy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n As the country begins to reopen, it\u2019s difficult to determine how music venues will financially recover from the quarantine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere are still going to be the same number of musicians that want places to play, so it\u2019s going to be interesting,\u201d McClellan said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n McClellan said \u201cstronger, wealthier organizations\u201d will be in better shape than smaller local venues. But events with smaller crowds may be the safer option in the initial stages of reopening nonessential businesses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think smaller venues will do okay if they can financially survive the next few months,\u201d Hadloc said. \u201cPeople will probably be scared to go to bigger venues with more people in the crowds.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Smaller venues could be a good fit for emerging artists trying to begin their touring careers.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cQuarantine is making people branch out and find new music, which might lead to artists becoming more popular,\u201d Collette said. \u201cMaybe there will be a bigger demand for them to do live shows after this is over.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Karen Cheatham, a 61-year-old Columbia interior designer, grew up in a family of booking agents and music promoters. One of her favorite ways to enjoy music is going to beach clubs for live shows.<\/p>\n Although artists are doing their best to connect with fans online, Cheatham said nothing can beat the experience of seeing them in person.<\/p>\n “It’s the whole experience of a concert that makes people want to go,” Cheatham said. “The music itself and hanging out with friends before, during and after makes it really special.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Festivals like Coachella and Bonnaroo are some of the most popular live music events in the country, with nearly 100,000 people attending each year. Many music festivals are postponed until fall, but according to Lieb, who has been to several herself, it will be hard to safely have those big crowds until 2021 at the earliest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no way to have any form of social distancing at those things,\u201d Lieb said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Most music festivals take place over the summer,\u00a0and regular attendees are more stir-crazy than ever now that warm weather is approaching.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSince people can\u2019t do anything now, they\u2019ll be dying for the chance to go to a music festival and let loose,\u201d Collette said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be crazy whenever they do happen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n People who look forward to these annual events may not have the ability to attend ones in the near future due to the devastating economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n “How do you start advertising concerts when there are some people without jobs who are struggling to feed their family?” Cheatham said.<\/p>\n Madison’s Picks<\/strong><\/p>\n I have spent a lot of time in isolation thinking in circles trying to figure out why pop and indie pop music seems to pulse through my veins. Maybe it\u2019s the often dreamy <\/span>synth<\/span> layers of indie pop that intrigue me. Maybe the tones of pop voices draw me in. Regardless, the real answer is simple: music is visceral.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Take time in isolation to discover the music that makes you feel the most like yourself. Here are my favorite pop and indie pop songs to get you started:<\/span><\/p>\n
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