On Saturday, May 30th, over 70 artists and thousands of fans came together for Quarantine Comes Alive, a virtual music festival that raised over $170,000 for artists and various charities via the comprehensive PLUS1 COVID-19 Relief Fund.

The 15-hour live stream marathon featured new contributions by an array of amazing artists from around the world including jamtronica mainstays Papadosio who performed a split-screen, two-song set. Don’t be fooled, however, as those two songs stretched well past the 20-minute marker.

The quintet opened up with “Skipswitch” from 2018’s Content Coma, gliding through the intro with some delicate soundscapes. When drummer Mike Healy finally stepped on the gas to get things going with some breakbeats, Brouse brothers followed suit on keys, and the whole band got going.

After a 14-minute journey on “Skipswitch”, Papadosio opted for “Cubensis” off the group’s forthcoming Microdosio album. This song, much like the rest of the album due out on July 9th, showcased a stripped-down approach from Papadosio—both onstage and in the studio. On Microdosio and the accompanying tour, which was cut short due to COVID-19, the band placed added emphasis on synths, samplers, drum machines, and, of course, live instruments. Despite the newness of the song, it still shared the same hallmarks of an old school Papadosio live jam. The circular structure of “Cubensis” finally brought the performance back to the back to the song’s opening piano riff to close out the segment on a high note.

As keyboardist Billy Brouse said of the performance,

I’ve run through every possible scenario that would lead to a show being canceled or rescheduled, a pandemic never crossed my mind. That being said it’s obviously been a whirlwind of ideas and emotions, but I feel like we have done our best to keep everyone engaged. At the end of the day we’ll figure it out, that’s what everyone is doing and that’s all anyone can do.

You can check out the entire Papadosio set from Quarantine Comes Alive below:

Papadosio – “Skipswitch” > “Cubensis” – Quarantine Comes Alive

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 ReliefMusiCaresCenter for Disaster PhilanthropyWorld Central KitchenPartners In HealthTrans Lifeline, and Backline to provide aid where it’s needed most. For more information, head here.


Don’t miss Live For Live Music’s next virtual festival, Justice Comes Alive, on Sunday, May 28th.

Justice Comes Alive will feature performances by 50+ artists including Antibalas, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, BANDEMIC (John Scofield, John Medeski, Billy Martin, & Jesse Murphy), Phil Lesh and the Terrapin Family Band, Stanley Jordan, Brandon “Taz” Niederauer, Christone “KINGFISH” Ingram, Dumpstaphunk, Galactic, Lettuce, Nahko, The Soul Rebels, Tank and the Bangas, TAUK, Turkuaz, and Umphrey’s McGee as well as conversations with musicians like Oteil Burbridge, Christian McBride, Karl Denson, Ivan Neville, and more about how we can heed the call of the moment to address and eliminate racial inequality on both a personal and a societal level

For more information or to RSVP, head to www.JusticeComesAlive.com. For updates, follow Justice Comes Alive on FacebookInstagram, and Twitter and RSVP to the Facebook Event page.

Justice Comes Alive, Justice Comes Alive stream, virtual music festival