One pub, one woman and 8 music bands from all over the world are putting their musical talents and hearts together in an International Stay At Home Festival.The aim is to connect and support our worldwide community during this pandemic.
The power of positivity and social media is infinite.
The Covid19 affair is now a worldwide phenomenon, since the beginning of the year it has affected almost all corners of the world, which is now mummifying its ordinary life to help stopping the spread of this pandemic.
China, Italy and now the US.
Businesses all over the world have had to adapt to the current situation. But in all this melancholy and worry, there are people that with their works of positivity and solidarity, urge us not to lose hope, and look towards a better and brighter future.
As Discoverplaces, we’ve started to do so with our hashtag #ilfuturonellenostreradici (#TheFutureInOurRoots), by telling the stories of amazing people and their loving towns, trying to reconnect to their roots through stories, recipes and folk tales.
But our future in our roots campaign, in fact started many years ago, when we were already sharing the stories of amazing people and their amazing deeds.
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Karen with the "Ronains" band, from Scotland[/caption]
One of these amazing people is our dear friend Karen Lauria Saillant, whom we’ve had the pleasure of meeting and learning about through her story many years ago. An opera director/vocal coach from Philadelphia, she organizes an Opera Prima every summer in the enchanting small theatre of Città della Pieve in Umbria. You can read all about it here “Grand Opera in Città della Pieve”.
The Fire is Karen’s creation, Philadelphia’s oldest original music venue!
Born as a pub in 1988 by her husband and eventually opened in the eclectic music scene of Philadelphia, her native city, throughout the years it has become a meeting point and launching ground for new musical talent. 
It has seen the debut of many now renowned international artists, like Maroon 5 and many other Indie bands that still see The Fire as a point of reference.
It started with a small stage, where Karen’s music students had the chance to perform and show their full creative potential in front of pub clients and during special events.
From a one man show, throughout the years the stage got bigger and bigger, hosting bands from all over the world.
Like many venues, The Fire had to cancel its shows and close its doors temporarily, due to the situation we’re living in.
But music doesn’t have barriers and it shares a common language that flows with the same universal breath. And if we cannot enjoy it live, we can enjoy it in the safety and comfort of our homes!
This is why the International “Stay At Home Fest” was born!
Social media is a powerful tool. It has the power to connect people no matter the distance! You just need an internet connection!
For many businesses, like Karen’s, the shutdown has affected their work schedule tremendously. A pub lives on the liveliness and participation of its customers, artists and supporters who come every night for a drink or a laugh, to unplug from the stress of a working day.
But people like Karen are not used to giving up, and their positivity is something far more contagious than what we are dealing with.
The International Stay At Home Fest is a series of pre-recorded Youtube concerts and live interviews with bands, where audience members can interact and ask questions, hosted by The Fire pub, which has invited and selected 8 bands from around the globe and 1 solo singer, who will all play in pre-recorded sync, since they’re all quarantined separately.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=15&v=EFDz9EzWTaM&feature=emb_logo
Japan, Italy, and Marocco, each show will host a band, some of whom were originally planned to play live at the venue. They will now perform pre-recorded in individual quarantine in front of a whole (digital) audience, connected by the power of music, and of the Internet.
Here’s a list of the bands participating:
Thundermother, Sweden
Eufemia, Mexico
Hope The Flowers, Thailand
General Rest in Peace, Morocco
Piqued Jacks, Italy
The Ronains, Scotland
Pinky Doodle Poodle, Japan
Dirty Soap, USA
Darko Todorovsky solo singer from Macedonia
A show for fun, and solidarity
The International Stay At Home Fest is not just a chance for you to unplug from the stress of the situation, and enjoy some good independent music, it’s also a time for solidarity.
During the live shows every user will be able to donate money, if they choose to do so, to the bands and performers that are participating in the Festival. Of the proceeds, 100% will directly support the performers, and The Fire’s Employee Emergency Fund, to support its staff that is now not able to work because of the Coronavirus situation.
There’s nothing in this modern world that keeps us from having a good time, even in times such as these. So, whether you’re American, Italian, music lover or live concert enthusiast, let’s all tune in in support of music and of businesses like Karen’s, that no matter what they don’t forget their spirit, and they try to be positive in hardship.
So what are you waiting for?
You can watch the show from the 18th of April HERE (http://stayathomefest.live/ or https://www.firephilly.com/stayathome/)
Learn more about The Fire HERE, and if you want to donate to their cause CLICK the following link (https://venmo.com/FirePhillyEmployee)
Cover picture by Rebecca Martten
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