Music festivals took all of 2020 off, for very obvious reasons, with Coachella 2020 (which was set to be headlined by Frank Ocean, Travis Scott and a reunited Rage Against the Machine) getting canceled just weeks before it was supposed to happen, right as COVID-19 hit America.
Once vaccines became available, music festivals started tentatively returning last year. While there was widespread concern that last year’s Lollapalooza festival would be a superspreader event, that didn’t seem to be the case.
Now music festivals are back in full force, as the punk festival Riot Fest just dropped its line-up yesterday, and the jam band and more festival Bonnaroo will take place in a few weeks.
But if the recently identified the ultra contagious Omicron Subvariant BA.2.12.1 has you nervous, or if you have kids or just don’t care much for music festivals, you’ll soon have a different option for checking out live sets by some of your favorites.
Hulu Has A Deal
Disney’s streaming Hulu (DIS) has struck an exclusive deal with Live Nation’s C3 (LYV) Presents to livestream sets from the promotion company’s three big festivals, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits, through 2023.
The livestream will mostly focus on live sets, but there will also be behind-the-scenes footage as well.
The livestream will be available at no extra charge to Hulu subscribers.
The deal follows what now looks like a trial run, when Hulu live streamed sets from last year’s Lollapalooza, but now the streaming service will have access to all three of C3’s festivals.
But Hulu doesn’t have an exclusive on the festival market, as performances from last month’s Coachella were livestreamed on YouTube, including performances from Arcade Fire and Phoebe Bridgers.
Daniel Boczarski/Redferns via Getty Images
What Sets Will Be Livestreamed?
It’s unclear, at the moment, which artist’s performances will be livestreamed, as some artists don’t agree to do it. (Tool, who will play Bonnaroo, usually don’t opt in for this sort of thing.) But you can usually count on the major headliners to agree to a livestream.
Hulu’s livestream schedule for all the three festivals will be announced at a later date.
And whether you like hip-hop, classic rock, dance music or alternative rock, there’s very likely something for you to check out.
-Bonnaroo takes place on June 16-19 in Manchester, Tennessee, with performances from Stevie Nicks, Machine Gun Kelly, Robert Plant, J. Cole, 21 Savages, The Chicks, Roddy Ricch and J. Cole.
-Lollapalooza hits Chicago’s Grant Park on July 29-31. Metallica, Dua Lipa, Green Day, Jane’s Addiction, Machine Gun Kelly, Doja Cat, Jazmine Sullivan, Lil Baby, Idles and Charli XCX will all play.
-Austin City Limits usually represents the unofficial end of the festival season. It will take place in the first two weeks of October and will feature performances from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, P!NK, SZA, Kacey Musgraves, Paramore and Lil Nas X, The War on Drugs, Spoon, Jazmine Sullivan.
And best of all, you don’t even need to apply sunscreen to see your favorite.
