We live music. We breathe it. We cannot get through our day without it. And for the fans, there is nothing like seeing your favorite band or artist live in concert. And while these days you can’t get through a show without a million phones recording every song, before cell phones, all we could do was just be in the moment and listen to the music. If you are nostalgic for a concert of your youth or want to know what a band sounds like live before you buy a possible ticket, there is an archive you will want to take a deep dive into.
Go down the musical rabbit hole
The magical person that is Brewster Kahle founded the Internet Archive, a non-profit site that lets anyone look through and enjoy countless websites, books, movies, and more — and all for free. He really is out there doing the Lord’s work, and we are so thankful. He’s done so much for the preservation of our culture online and other amazing things when it comes to the internet. We appreciate him.
While you can take your time going through all the archives and have the best time, we are going to focus on the music side.
The Live Music Archive
- The site is run by donations and volunteers.
- 8,000 musicians and counting have granted access to live concert performances.
- Look through and listen to over 250,000 songs.
- Find live music from 1959 to 2023.
Instead of scrolling on your phone for hours, give your ears the love they deserve by checking out the Live Music Archive. So far, around 8,000 musicians, artists, and bands have given the rights to post their live performances. John Mayer? Check. The Grateful Dead? Check. 311? Check. Jack Johnson? Check. Taylor Swift? Well, sorry, no, but you never know what the future holds. Part of the fun will be searching for artists you like and discovering new ones.
Speaking of searching, look through the archive by artist, year, or subject and see what comes up. If there was a specific year of a show you wanted to relive or an artist you’ve always wanted to hear live, you will be able to search for it. You could also scroll through the entire artist list.
With concert tickets costing anywhere from a whole paycheck to a month’s rent (we’re looking at you, Ticketmaster), being able to hear those tunes for free is liberating for people — and their wallets. There are even music videos to watch (remember when those were still a thing?) to really get into your nostalgic bubble.
We could all lend a helping hand
If you don’t see a band or artist you love on the list, you could change that yourself. They are accepting volunteers for certain positions to help grow the site. Look through their open volunteer positions to see if your skills would be a good fit to help get more music out there for all of us to listen to for free. Or, create a free account and upload what you have to the collection.
We love it when people put their talents to good use instead of evil and create something that benefits everyone. When that something involves music, a universal language we could not live without, then that’s even better.
