How video games like 'Minecraft' became a venue for the world's hottest music festivals
Coachella is delayed until October. Justin Bieber has put his world tour on hold. Taylor Swift is calling off 2020 shows altogether.
Concerts and festivals have been put on hold for the foreseeable future, but there’s one place where live music is still in full swing: “Minecraft.”
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The massively popular, world-building video game, which is second only to “Tetris” in all-time sales, has hosted artists like Doja Cat, Charl XCX and 100 gecs over the past several weeks.
That’s all thanks to Open Pit, a “virtual event” planning company, which has been hosting widely attended music festivals within the video game.
On April 11, the group hosted Nether Meant, a “Minecraft”-only music festival headlined by math rock band American Football. The concert, a benefit for frontline health workers, saw more than 112,000 attendees, according to Pitchfork. That’s 30,000 more people than attended Bonaroo in 2019.
Two weeks later, Open Pit hosted Square Garden, another “Minecraft” show, headlined by Charli XCX. The performance came complete with an in-game avatar for the British pop singer, plus a stage and venue full of other users.
🌳#SquareGarden🌳
is coming up tomorrow at 6PM EST!
a Minecraft festival to support Feeding America presented by @100gecs
featuring @charli_xcx@KeroKeroBonito@alicelongyugao@DORIANELECTRA@CASHMERECAT@ItsBennyBlanco
+ more !
info @ https://t.co/wO4mBtGzQfpic.twitter.com/On2pSBuF2Z— Open Pit (@OpenPitPresents) April 23, 2020
The concerts, which people can usually attend in the game or watch via Twitch stream, provide music fans with a chance to emulate the communal experiences they’ve been missing since March.
“Watching them made me euphoric and a little weepy,” Pitchfork’s Cat Zhang wrote of Square Garden. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen a crowd.”
If you liked this story, check out In The Know’s article on the best stress-relieving video games you can play right now.
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