ATLANTA — The last music festival in the Atlanta area seems like ages ago -- as the pandemic basically shut down the live music industry. However, that hasn't stopped many artists from holding virtual concerts for fans.
With all eyes on Georgia and the Jan. 5 U.S. Senate runoffs, 45 music acts will come together (virtually, of course) for a one-day virtual music festival on Saturday, December 26.
According to organizers, the event is "aimed at promoting voter participation in the upcoming Georgia runoff elections by supporting local grassroots organizations, Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda and CivicGeorgia."
Fans who make a donation of any amount before the event will receive an email with a link to the stream on the day of the show.
Participating acts include The Lame Ducks, a one-off supergroup project featuring Bob Weir (Grateful Dead), Dave Schools (Widespread Panic), Jeff Chimenti (Dead & Company), and Jay Lane (Wolf Bros, Primus); collaborative sets including Phil Lesh & Friends and R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills with BIG Something; long-running musical institutions like Blind Boys of Alabama and Preservation Hall Jazz Band; dance music sets by Diplo and Big Gigantic; and a range of hit-making artists, Grammy winners, and cult favorites from across the musical spectrum including Dave Matthews, Big Freedia, Nathaniel Rateliff, Ben Folds, The Revivalists, Tank and the Bangas, Musiq Soulchild, Bobby Rush, Warren Haynes, Portugal. The Man, Grouplove and Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers).
On Jan. 5, Georgia voters will head to the polls once again to cast their ballot for two U.S. Senate seats. No candidate got 51 percent of the vote in November in the races between Republican Sen. David Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Kelly Loeffler and Democrat Raphael Warnock. If the Democrats win both seats, the U.S. Senate will turn blue.
The event is being hosted by SirusXM's Ari Fink.
To donate and receive your invite to the event, visit GeorgiaComesAlive.com.