Venues may no longer be packed for concerts, but to make up for it, Warner Music Group is crafting a three-day virtual event dubbed PlayOn Fest. The event will air archived footage of concerts from around the globe April 24-26 in an effort to bring music fans together and raise funds for COVID-19 relief.
Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Cardi B, Green Day and Twenty One Pilots will all have past performances featured on the webcast, which airs on both PlayOnFest.com and SongKick’s YouTube channel beginning at 12 p.m. EST Friday. Other artists featured on the jam-packed lineup include Panic! At the Disco, Bebe Rexha, Weezer, Korn, Janelle Monae and Paramore, among dozens more.
Fans can also expect a tribute segment honoring late rapper Nipsey Hussle and his acclaimed album Victory Lap. The online festival will amass 36 hours of musical performances overall and sell a range of merchandise to benefit the World Health Organization.
“Tune into PlayOn Fest April 24-26 and help us raise money for the World Health Organization to boost COVID-19 relief funds. Thank you to all of the healthcare workers who are dedicating their services and helping to save lives! Since I can’t get on stage right now…I’m throwing it back to my party at the Global Citizen Festival to hopefully send some love and light to y’all. Stay safe everyone,” said Cardi B in a statement.
PlayOn Fest comes on the heels of another star-studded benefit concert. Global Citizen’s Together At Home livestream raised $128 million for the World Health Organization and featured eight hours of performances, two of which aired across three major networks in primetime. Lady Gaga curated the lineup, which featured John Legend, Celine Dion, Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lopez and dozens more.
Check out a teaser of the virtual festival in the clip below.