As New Orleans residents hunker down during what is essentially a citywide shutdown brought on by the ongoing threat of the novel coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic, many are developing creative ways to combat widespread income loss and — let’s face it — utter boredom.

Musicians are among those whose livelihoods remain threatened, and in a city like New Orleans, the absence of live music is particularly palpable. In response, organizers of what’s being termed the “Sofa King Fest” are attempting to launch a “one-stop source for all your couch streaming concert options.”

Sofa King Fest was created in response to the “industry-wide cancellations” which have stripped musicians from touring, festival and gig income. Dubbed an “emergency response online music and arts directed aimed to minimize your COVID-19 quarantine boredom while providing a platform to raise money for artists, crew, and music industry professionals affected by this pandemic,” Sofa King Fest hopes to essentially bring festival season online.

“Sofa King Fest will curate a ‘main stage’ experience with a long and eclectic roster of artists performing while also offering a streamable music festival grid featuring all the sets around the globe that we can find,” say organizers. “Performances will be searchable by genre, location, cause” and more.

Proceeds from streaming will either benefit artists directly or go towards a charity of their choosing.

On the website, musicians are able to fill out an application form.

“We hope our site will help fans cope with the coming times we are forced to be at home and at the same time support working musicians and the global music industry community, providing some relief during this crisis,” says the Sofa King Fest website before adding, “Don’t forget to wash your hands.”

This historic music festival is based in New Orleans (with leading involvement from Reid Martin) but music industry professionals are involved nationwide.

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