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About the time United States President Donald Trump was announcing new guidelines discouraging gatherings of 10 or more people on Tuesday, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin was on Instagram, hosting an intimate, impromptu home concert.
"I was supposed to be with the band Coldplay today, from which I come, but we'restuck in different countries. So we can't play together," he said into the camera. "So I'm here at your service for the next 20-something minutes.
"I've never done this before, so if I seem a bit nervous, I'm sorry."
For the next half-hour, one of the most recognisable figures in rock and pop music sat at the piano in his home studio, took requests from Instagram users, played various fan favourites from the Coldplay catalogue, covered classic tunes such as David Bowie's Life on Mars and riffed on standards like As Time Goes By.
The whole thing had a true off-the-cuff, let's-get-through-this-together feel. At times, he couldn't remember certain bits and broke out laughing.
As concerts are being cancelled for the foreseeable future, artists such as Martin, Neil Young, Keith Urban, Pink, and Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and the Postal Service are turning to various social media platforms to perform music for their quarantined and isolated fans.
It's part of what's quickly becoming the new normal, as people across the US — and the world — practise social distancing, or the general avoidance of other people and crowds, in hopes of slowing the spread of Covid-19.
At one point in his stream, Martin said, "maybe tomorrow, someone else will take it over" and dubbed the informal series "Together at Home".
John Legend took up that torch, tweeting on Monday, "My friend Chris Martin did a lovely little concert from home today. I'll be doing one tomorrow at 1pm Pacific time. See you soon. We'll try to get through this together! #TogetherAtHome."
At least one fan will be watching, as his wife Chrissy Teigen made clear when she tweeted, "I'll be there!! because I literally have no choice." This #TogetherAtHome series highlights a trend created by the novel coronavirus global pandemic.
Gibbard said he'll be streaming himself performing songs on YouTube and Facebook every day from his home studio at 4pm Eastern, beginning yesterday. He noted on the Death Cab for Cutie Twitter account that efforts to "help flatten the curve" have "left us all incredibly isolated". "But," he added, "because we're all going through this nightmare together we are quite literally NOT alone." He thanked fans for their years of support, adding "in this crazy and unprecedented time, I'd like to return to the favour by coming to YOU".
Similarly, Young posted on his website a photo of his two dogs and his fireplace along with a brief note stating, "Because we are all at home and not many are venturing out, we will try to do a stream from my fireplace with my lovely wife filming."
It most likely will mirror his recent performance of Heart of Gold, which he and wife Daryl Hannah streamed during a digital rally for Democrat candidate Bernie Sanders.
In other instances, planned shows are becoming digital experiences. After the cancellation of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo that Urban was to play on March 16, he livestreamed a 30-minute set that he played for a single audience member: his wife, Nicole Kidman.
And raucous Irish rockers the Dropkick Murphys planned to stream from Boston for St Patrick's Day.
Some artists are offering smaller glimpses into their quarantined life, such as Pink. The pop star posted a video to Instagram in which she announced that she's "decided to learn the piano, once and for all", before performing a rendition of Bob Dylan's Make You Feel My Love.
