Local music lovers may already be familiar with Garden Wonder, a self-professed “chill concert series” which brings international artists from all over the world to Budapest, to play at secret venues across the city. With everything in shutdown mode, the team at Garden Wonder has switched to streaming these gigs live – every night for a whole month.
Garden Wonder was first organised in the back garden of a family home one summer, and its success sparked the name and the nature of the group. Concerts are held in living rooms, shops, coffeehouses, even piano factories – wherever the music can be brought to the people. The venue is kept secret until the last minute, when it is shared with those who have already signed up. Two to three artists perform at each concert, to an exclusive audience of 100-120 people. It’s fun, convivial and undertaken in the spirit of community. Over the past three years, nearly a hundred performers have gathered to share their music with Garden Wonder.
Now the organisers are excited to announce that in the face of the coronavirus, they’re taking the concerts to a new platform: online! For 30 days, 30 artists will be live-streaming their concerts directly to the people, in a worldwide event called Share the Wonder.
The event has only just started up, with artists streaming live from Italy, the UK, USA, Australia and Ireland so far. The main genre is singer-songwriters (with the language always in English), but other genres like funk, progressive acoustic, neo-classical and electronic pop will also be featured. “Music has an enormous community-building power,” say Garden Wonder, “something we have certainly experienced over these first five days of the series”.
“Since we are in a major shutdown,” says Hanna, one of the event organisers, “we thought this was the best way to keep the community engaged, and to share great music from all around the world”. Everyone is invited to come together online and experience a different Garden Wonder artist each night. There will be Irish, English, American, Scottish, Australian and Dutch musicians, and of course, some of their favourite Hungarian musicians also in the line-up.
“This allows us to give our musicians an online stage and support from the audience. And for the Budapest community of Garden Wonder, we can provide a nostalgic and joyful experience.”
And there will be some surprises, too – a dance-off is arranged for Saturday, where an electronic pop artist will be playing live, and participants are welcome to dance on the other side of the screen in their PJs.
The community of music-lovers has grown since its inception, and proven to be incredibly popular. The new online concerts are streaming every night at 9pm (Budapest time) until 19 April, on the Garden Wonder Facebook and Instagram accounts. The Artist of the Day is announced each day on the group’s social media platforms.
The group hopes that these online concerts will be an inspiration, and a good time for all to re-charge and feel connected. The online streams are free, but there is an option to donate to the artists, as well. “We hope to resume our shows as soon as possible,” says a spokesperson. But until then, the party lives on… online!
Tonight, Thursday 26 March at 9pm, Australian Lucas Laufen plays from his living room in Berlin.
