On Saturday, May 30th, over 70 artists and thousands of fans came together for Quarantine Comes Alive, a virtual music festival that raised over $150,000 for a litany of charities via the comprehensive PLUS1 COVID-19 Relief Fund.
The 15-hour live-stream marathon featured virtual performances and never-before-seen videos by an array of artists from around the world including bassist Karina Rykman, who welcomed fans to her upstate New York home along the Hudson River for a two-song performance early on in the afternoon. For her virtual QCA set, the Marco Benevento trio bassist teamed up with three musical friends for original tune “Dirty South” (featuring a sly “Shakedown Street” tease) and an appropriate cover of LCD Soundsystem‘s “Daft Punk Is Playing At My House” (featuring some subtle nods to Talking Heads‘ “Crosseyed and Painless”).
Rykman’s QCA performance was captured with a drone, providing sweeping views of the picturesque suburban setting in which she’s spending her time in quarantine. The setting made for a perfect location to jam out to even the highest of possible decibel levels without causing any stress or annoyance to the neighbors. The abundant greenery matched with the quartet’s energy on a sunny springtime afternoon made for a fun way to ease fans into Quarantine Comes Alive.
As Karina explained to Live For Live Music, “The band is comprised of Nathan Slone on drums (from the band Vansire), Marlo Shankweiler on guitar (from the band Melt), Isaac Slone on second guitar, and yours truly on bass and vocals. Johnny Beach, Bowery Presents‘ talent buyer, is the illustrious drone operator. We’ve all been quarantined in the Hudson Valley together for three months, and our commune band has done tons of jamming to stay sane during this time. Marlo came up with the idea to get a drone to tape our performances from above, so we split the cost and have become proud new drone parents.”
Continued Rykman, “We got so excited when we got it that we ended up getting a little crazy, and crashed it twice on the first day. We then ended up duct taping the wings and hoping for the best, and it held up pretty well but then failed just as we were filming our QCA video. It at least made picking a take easy! It has since been properly repaired, and we’re now excited to ride high once again.”
If you enjoyed the performance, Karina asks that you make a donation to Black Lives Matter. Watch the full Karina Rykman performance from Quarantine Comes Alive below:
Karina Rykman – “Dirty South”, “Daft Punk Is Playing At My House” [LCD Soundsystem] – Quarantine Comes Alive
[Video: Live For Live Music]
Presented by Live For Live Music in partnership with PLUS1 and Nugs.TV, Quarantine Comes Alive was conceived as a way to celebrate and support musicians, provide fans with unique musical experiences from the comfort of their couches, and raise money for comprehensive COVID-19 relief during this time of uncertainty. All funds raised from the donation-based event will be split evenly between the artists on the bill and the PLUS1 COVID-19 Relief Fund, which works directly with leading non-profit organizations like Sweet Relief, MusiCares, Center for Disaster Philanthropy, World Central Kitchen, Partners In Health, Trans Lifeline, and Backline to provide aid where it’s needed most. For more information, head here.