We also support non profit organizations & causes in our community. Cleveland's 48 Hour Virtual Music Fest began as an online event created to give local performers an opportunity to continue their profession, while also benefiting programs and charities in need of financial support during the early days of pandemic uncertainty. Now in its second year, the festival has become a focal point of pand
emic performance and generosity recognized not only across northeast Ohio, but reaching across the country and even globally.
**Detailed Explanation by Creator Meg Stepka:
48 Hour Virtual Music Fest first began in March 2020 when the Stay Home order was given & musicians from our community started losing work & gigs. As an open mic host and curator of Live Music & Arts Events I had an idea...
because I was seeing friends & family on Facebook musicians & music lovers writing anxious posts at all hours of the night, who would otherwise be sleeping ...what if I could fill the feeds with something positive : Curate & Cultivate a 48 Hour Virtual Music Fest to raise the vibes & spirits of both performers & audiences for 2 days straight! Music is an equalizer of emotion, & live music (even live-streamed music) allows people to connect & feel together. In March I organized a line-up of 48 artists from the community & scheduled each to go live every hour on the hour. I made an event page & the next day we got some press from cleveland.com. The first event was such a success that I knew 5 minutes into it I would be doing it again the following month! In April response & support grew & again in May the event continued to lift spirits. I have no means to pay the artists - so I strongly encourage each of them to include a link to their virtual tip jar, & many artists have benefited from doing this under the umbrella of our well promoted platform. I brought on a group of moderators to help me share the live videos every hour in real time to our event pages each month, the moderators volunteer their time & express gratitude to be involved in such an “awesome & joyous” event. I announced during the April event that I would keep doing these virtual fests the last weekend of the month through the year of 2020 and possibly beyond. I realize although the guidelines for the stay home order have been loosened, many musicians will remain working less & this has been a great platform to elevate their visibility. Also to the folks who are immune -compromised and won’t be coming out to live shows anytime soon, this is for them - music is essential. I am fueled & inspired by the local music community & will continue to do what I can to support our city, artists & the world’s collective conscious. **
** Supporting Our Community Together:
In more recent months we introduced the notion of supporting organizations in the greater community through our live streamed shows including two events that supported Black Lives Matter (one of which directed Donations to the https://www.tamirericefoundation.org/ ), we also had a month of Supporting Mental Health Awareness & Resources. In September we had the privilege of teaming up with https://www.ingenuitycleveland.org/ to present a unique combination of Ingenuity Fest meets 48 Hour Virtual Music Fest - we called the event Virtually INGenious! The Following month we teamed up with https://www.facebook.com/breastfestcle to raise funds for Breast Cancer Awareness & Support. November benefited https://www.facebook.com/ClevelandRocksPastPresentAndFuture
In December we teamed up with WJCU & Neorocks to present a Virtual Blizzard Bash raising funds for the Hunger Network which was by far our most successful fundraiser! $8,800 was donated to Hunger Network because of this festival and our partnership with WJCU! In January we are set to team up with The Panza Foundation who is raising funds to donate to 4 of Cleveland’s beloved live music venues! Here is Some Press We Have Received ! :)
https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2020/05/48-hour-virtual-music-fest-to-feature-cleveland-musicians-this-weekend.html
https://clevelandmagazine.com/entertainment/music/articles/48-hours-of-music-cleveland-musician-hosts-nonstop-livestream-festival
https://podcast.app/meganne-stepka-meg-the-magnetosphere-e91735979/
https://clevelandmagazine.com/things-to-do/articles/ingenuity-fest-goes-live-with-48-hour-virtual-music-festival
