American experimental instrumental duo 100 gecs has announced the virtual Square Garden festival to be hosted via popular sandbox video game Minecraft. Along with 100 gecs, the festival will feature performances from several articles including Charli XCX, Cashmere Cat and Kero Kero Bonito. It will happen on April 24.
The festival joins a growing trend of similar events hosted on Minecraft’s platform. These include the recent Nether Meant music festival, featuring Anamanaguchi, American Football, HANA and others, which took place on April 11. It will take place the day before Block By Blockwest, which will feature Pussy Riot, Fever 333, Citizen and others on April 25. In a similar vein and confirmed by 100 gecs on Instagram, proceeds from the festival will go to support Feeding America.
According to Pitchfork via statement from the duo, 100 gecs chose Minecraft as a venue/hosting platform because it is where they performed their first-ever show last year. Along with becoming a virtual hosting site for festivals, Minecraft has also been benefiting other individuals and groups throughout the pandemic by engaging in such activities as releasing free educational resources and content for parents and educators. As the bestselling game of all time with over 180 million copies sold across multiple gaming platforms its an ideal platform for resource and entertainment dissemination during these socially-distanced times.
Festival curators 100 gecs will play multiple festivals this year, including Best Kept Secret and the rescheduled III Points festival. Headliner Charli XCX is in the midst of finishing up quarantine album, due out May 15. She just released its first single, “Forever.” Co-headliner Cashmere Cat is coming off the 2019 fall release of their most recent album, Princess Catgirl.
An audio stream for the festival can be directly accessed through 100 gecs’s website. Instructions for full access to the festival are also outlined there.
Photo Credit: Boston Lynn Schulz
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