Nobody Falls By the Wayside

We've all had moments when live music really touched us: the vibration of a guitar string, the way two singers' harmonies hum inside our chest, the flub that causes two musicians to giggle at each other, rendering them – momentarily – human.

With festival season and pride parties in full swing right now, though, you may be feeling the niggling doubts and anxieties about being in such a loud crowd – those bugbears that have stayed in our minds since 2020. Or, if you're like thousands of people across the country, you can't do any of those things anymore.

What does it mean to be a performing artist who is contending with long COVID? Or who can no longer perform in public for fear of risking their health? Karen Pittelman of Karen and the Sorrows, along with others, has spent the last five years figuring out how to share her art with the world and resonate alongside her audience – while preserving her life.

Songs From the Wayside is a recorded concert that falls just shy of 45 minutes. It was released back in December. I wish I could say writing about it now is a demonstration of how great it would be if more shows were streamed and archived...but really I just let it, well, fall by the wayside. The show's title is a barb aimed at Anthony Fauci, whose conservative approach to the AIDS epidemic cost people their lives – and he's done the same again nearly 40 years later.

While most of us would like to think COVID is "over," that is not the case. In in August 2023 interview with the BBC, Fauci remarked, "…even though you’ll find the vulnerable will fall by the wayside, they’ll get infected, they’ll get hospitalized and some will die, it’s not going to be the tsunami of cases that we’ve seen."

Is that really something we'd accept? Is it really worth it not to mask indoors while risking anyone's life?

Songs From the Wayside demonstrates the power and vitality of the livestream concerts so many of us happily abandoned. But they are a vital lifeline to people – and artists – who can't go to live shows anymore.

Watching this show through a screen, nearly 6 months after its debut, makes it no less powerful. Meet the Bug's set is resonant and sorrowful, a true display of what it means to be vulnerable, and how to touch people's souls. (Their set is also, thoughtfully, captioned.)

Meanwhile, Cade Braynen's elegant piano playing travels through time and space – renditions of Dia Succari's"La Nuit du Destin" and Oleg Plotnikov's "The Planets" soar. These are from Braynen's graduation recital – the last time Braynen was able to perform in public.

Zoe Boekbinder's two-song set feels like an entire show. Their magnetism and conviction immerse the listener in their unique artist. We've spoken with Boekbinder on the Rainbow Rodeo podcast, and their principled approach to their life – and by extension their art – shines through here.

And, of course, Karen's set is a showstopper. While I would prefer hugging her in person, of course, there's no force that can dull the sorrow in Karen's work. In a just world, some of those sorrows would be lessened.

Songs From the Wayside proves that streaming/recorded shows are not a thing of the past, or anything less-than. Instead, they are a vital means of appreciating some disabled artists' work – and we owe it to them to appreciate it as such. (Plus, when they're recorded like this, you never have to feel like you missed out on something special.)

If you are able to enjoy in-person events this summer, make sure you are reaching out to your loved ones who may not be able to go. And consider what you can do to help make the world a bit safer for them.

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