Dear Reader
Throughout this pandemic, the numbers have been hard to comprehend. Keeping up with the death toll has been depressing and upsetting. Some news outlets have tried to humanise the people behind the statistics, behind the over 323,000 deaths worldwide — among them some of our favourite artists and owners of stores down the street, and for others, family members. In the US, we’ve lost over 90,000 people. Last month, that figure overtook the number of Americans killed during the Vietnam War, which lasted two decades.
In Greek culture, the memorial service you hold for someone is called Mnimosino, basically translated as “calling to mind,” and it’s done in remembrance of the deceased, where the hymn, Eonia I Mnimi, or Memory Eternal, is sung. I used to think you could only do this in a church, but I think remembering someone in a dedicated time and space, when your mind hones in on what that person stood for and how they lived their life, works just as well.
A 24-hour virtual vigil will be held today — a chance to have a kind of memorial service for those who’ve died during this pandemic. For those whose deaths we have not been able to keep up with. Called Naming The Lost: A 24 Hour COVID Vigil, it’s not sponsored by a single organization, but brings together faith leaders and people who have lost family and friends to the virus from across the country for collective grieving beginning at 2pm EST.
Here is today’s list of events you can also take part in:
1. Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires from Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit will be broadcasting an exclusive Instagram TV transmission to fans on the @roughtradenyc Instagram page, in honour of the new album, Reunions, which truly is a fantastic album with turns of phrases and guitar licks that will play over in your mind long after you’ve stopped listening to the album. Over on the Pitchfork IG 7pm EST, rapper Princess Nokia will perform.
2. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation will hold their first-ever Virtual Hot Pink Evening at 5pm PST / 8pm EST. The star-studded Broadway tribute to Hamilton’s Mandy Gonzalez will feature special guests like Laura Benanti, Norbert Leo Butz, Edie Falco, Sir Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
3. San Francisco Ballet has been streaming a different ballet from its archives every week. Until May 22, you can see Justin Peck’s acclaimed 2018 Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, performed in sneakers and street clothes and set to music from the 2011 album by the French electronic band M83, from last year.
4. The fundraiser Feed the Front Line Live will air on CMT’s Facebook and YouTube pages, as a virtual benefit festival with three separate “mealtime” streams airing throughout the day: breakfast (10am EST), lunch (2pm EST) and dinner (8pm EST). Expect at-home performances from the likes of Avril Lavigne, Billy Ray Cyrus, Kelsea Ballerini, Sheryl Crow and Tim McGraw.
5. It’s the next installment of the Oscar-winning director Taika Waititi’s James and the Giant Peach read-along. Two parts are already up, and there will be 10 episodes in total, of Roald Dahl’s story, to raise money for Partners In Health. Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Cynthia Erivo, Beanie Feldstein, Kumail Nanjiani and my one-time best friend Meryl Streep are among the big-names that will be joining him. New episodes released every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10am PST/ 1pm EST /6pm BST.
Thank you for reading! I’ll leave you with the ever-inventive OK Go’s video for their song All Together Now, which you absolutely have to watch until the end.
Stay safe, stay sane
Your neighbour
Nadia