Mr. Keith,
I sincerely thank you for stopping by. Below is the video explanation of this global concert, The Great Gig in the Sky, along with a more detailed description.
If you’re still interested when you finish that, I’ve included a description of the larger project it derives from called Discover the World. These projects, and several others, could make use of embassies all over the globe in a coordinated effort.
I’ve been planning this kind of live digital performance for years, even before there was the term live-stream. But the past 6 months has redefined our vocabularies. In Cairo I’ve been fortunate to have found some team members that have helped bring the idea for this concert further along. Right now we have a plan for 4 geographic regions with each performing for 6 hours consecutively. With as few as 48 individual musicians/groups, we can bring together music and styles from around the world for an entire 24 hours.
And to take this even further, I believe there is a way to make this unique concert truly the first of its kind. My team and I may have also found a way to allow musicians to perform live with each other like no one has ever done before. With the right system, someone in Portland, Oregon (for example) could perform with someone in Washington, DC live with an almost unnoticeable delay. As with everything else in life currently, it all comes down to the technology. And I think for the first time ever the technology is available, it just needs to be re-tasked.
Getting certain systems to work would involve communication between several organizations that are far above my network on LinkedIn. This project is not asking for any money, as it can probably pay the nominal expenses through sponsorships. All we are asking for is help in communicating with certain people in various communication companies that can get things done. The weight of a message from someone at an embassy or at the State Department would carry much more weight than some random crazy people from Cairo.
This concert in its simplest format could be put together with minimal costs and within 2-4 weeks. Depending on what becomes the technology used is what can take it to more complex levels and longer time frames. But even then, the expenses and resources required would be a small fraction of what a multi-musician, old school live concert would be.
The idea is not to replace the beloved live concert, but to think about how new formats can be used to bring people together in the same way. Then, using the common language of music, it can introduce audiences and musicians from around the world.
While I’ve been working on these devious plans for over 10 years, what we’ve seen over the past few months only reinforces the idea that it’s all possible, and above everything else, it’s needed.
Discover the World
This is the Discover the World project- a way of using arts and culture to connect people across the planet.
Any people or civilization can best be understood by looking at how they express themselves in their art and culture. For us to know where we will go as a global community, we must start to understand how where we come from, where we are now, and how the possibilities for the future are all interconnected. All of this can be seen in the languages of our collective cultures. This project will show a global audience how to read these languages, while entertaining them in unique ways, and hopefully in the end allow people’s view of the world and what’s possible to open up a little more.
It begins with our shared history and explores of the origins of the visual arts, music, dance, storytelling, sport, food and our created personal environment (what architecture and fashion say about a people). These seven cultural categories begin to show the languages all cultures are built on.
From there the earth is looked at in 7-9 regions, based only on music tuning systems and scales, and each of these regions is looked at through the lens of the cultural areas. Following human migration and the rise of civilizations, the areas of Africa, the Middle East, India, Eastern Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceana, Europe, Central Asia though the Americas can be explored.
The audience will be introduced to representatives of each region's cultural areas and shown their insights. Through interviews, demonstrations and performances, creative customs and traditions will be explored in new ways and look at the past, present and possible futures. Each region will be part arts journey, part sports program, part cooking show, part live performance and music concert. The audience will be able to watch virtuosos in their field along with regular people as they discuss, perform or create. It's likely that numerous cultural traditions could be viewed for the first time by a global audience.
The most unique thing this project can offer is a twist to all of this. From this global network we can take one cultural element and twist it with something else, taking its contemporary form then deliberately combining different styles from other areas. These hybrids could be nearly any combination from across multiple global communities. There will be rare opportunities to create one-of-a-kind hybrids, then help create and guide new cultural blends.
By looking at the world's arts and culture using this method of chronicling, experiencing contemporary styles, and contemplating future expectations, this project allows people from all over the globe to understand and celebrate their own culture, as well as those that are different from theirs.