Block By Blockwest: The Minecraft Music Festival

More than three dozen bands will boot up Minecraft on Saturday for their appearances at Block by Blockwest, an online music festival raising funds for the Coronavirus Emergency Response Fund. Names like Pussy Riot, Sir Sly, Grandson, IDLES, and Nothing, Nowhere are among the lineup.

Organized by Philadelphia band Courier Club, the festival was created in response to COVID-19 related tour cancellations that impacted artists globally.

“BlockByBlockWest is a Minecraft music festival featuring a number of different bands hosted by Courier Club. Due to the growing COVID-19 concerns, a number of tours have been canceled. “BlockByBlockWest” will bring artists and fans together by offering an immersive virtual concert experience, which will include live-streamed music into the game, minigames, and competitions, as well as an opportunity to support individuals and small businesses affected by COVID-19 by purchasing merchandise on our website,” a message on the festival’s Discord server reads.

The event starts on April 25 at 3 p.m. ET. Bands will play 20-minute prerecorded live sessions that will be played through the Discord server. Other activities normally found in Minecraft will also be available, such as mini-games and art galleries.

Interested in learning about how it will all work? Check out this tutorial from Courier Club’s Youtube channel:

Join us this Saturday, April 25th from 3PM ET for Block By Block West to raise funds for CDC’s Covid-19 Response Fund. https://t.co/fS0rbNXcYv pic.twitter.com/QTJXikzSKA

— I D L E S (@idlesband) April 21, 2020

If you’re not a Minecraft player, don’t worry! Sets will also be streamed on the festival’s website and Discord server. For a full festival lineup, visit blockbyblockwest.com.