New Years Eve is going to look much different from normal this year - but there are forces at work on the quest to ring in 2021 with as much joy, excitement, and yes, music, as ever. One of those forces is ARISE Music Festival, who is throwing an online bash, complete with performances from Desert Dwellers, Magic Beans, Spectacle, and Melody Lines, live painting with Laura McGowan, poetry, interviews, and more. Meant as a global celebration of the things that bring us together as a community, the night will also serve as a means to raise money for the performers and for all artists affected by the Covid-19 pandemic through donations to Sweet Relief Musicians Fund. It has been such a gift to work with ARISE Music Festival as partners to Rocky Mountain Virtual during these past 9 months, and I can’t imagine a better way to end 2020 and look toward a brighter future. I had the extreme honor of interviewing ARISE’s Executive Producer, Luke Comer, and its Marketing Director, Shannon Bock - the two people responsible for creating the magic that is ARISE Music Festival.

Well… it happened. We’re here again - in the red. We can’t eat inside restaurants, enjoy the company of friends at bars, or be graced with the gift of in-person live music of any kind. So many people are hurting right now, and the music community is one of the top industries when it comes to lost income due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. The local scene and independent venues have been especially hard, as many don’t have a security fund to fall back on. Local venue owners, full-time musicians, stage hands, lighting designers, sound engineers, and others involved behind the scenes have likely put everything they’ve got into the role they love. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t support your friends who are musicians or who work behind the scenes in the industry. Here’s how: