One month after performing at 'United at Home' on a rooftop in Miami, Florida, the 'Dangerous' hitmaker prepares for a second virtual benefit show that will take place in New York City.
- May 29, 2020
AceShowbiz - Dance superstar David Guetta decided to take his live lockdown performances outdoors after finding it "frustrating" to play without an in-person crowd.
With concerts and club nights shut down around the globe due to the coronavirus pandemic, many musicians have taken to the Internet to livestream gigs from the comfort of their own homes, but staging the shows indoors just wasn't working for the Titanium hitmaker.
"A lot of artists, especially DJs, were doing performances from their bedrooms. I felt like that was a little bit frustrating. I really wanted to feel like I have a crowd," Guetta explained to The Associated Press.
The French star came up with a plan to stage a virtual benefit gig last month on a rooftop in Miami, Florida, complete with festival-grade production, and the location of the first event, titled United at Home, allowed residents in nearby apartment buildings to view the concert in person, while still abiding by social distancing regulations.
Guetta said, "I had the idea of doing this in the middle of (apartment) towers and people were on the balconies and that was absolutely amazing."
The livestream attracted over 12 million viewers and raised more than $700,000 (£568,000) for COVID-19 relief efforts, and Guetta is now preparing to play his second United at Home show at an undisclosed location in New York City on Saturday, May 30.
During the Miami event, he also connected with fans via video conferencing app Zoom so he could watch them enjoy his concert as it happened, and he will be doing the same for the Big Apple bash.
"To me it's essential," he shared of the fan engagement. "That was the idea behind the show. I'm going to do it in a different way in New York City, but we were also interacting with people on Zoom. I thought that was so cool. I could see the kids dancing at home. I could see everybody having their own little parties. I could interact with them. Some people would write messages to me and I would answer them. Like, this is really cool! It feels more real.
"We're entertainers, this is what we do. It's not just like playing at home on the keyboard. I'm performing for the people. It's amazing to receive energy back."
And while the concert will be raising donations for good causes, Guetta is thrilled to be able to entertain fans as best he can until the live music industry is up and running again.
"We're doing something good. And also, we're bringing a little bit of happiness in people's life (sic) which is what I'm trying to do as a DJ," he smiled.
Fans can join the next United at Home concert from 7pm EST here.
