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Residents in Montreal have taken a leaf out of Italy’s book by taking to their balconies and singing songs during the coronavirus outbreak.
Many came out to perform Leonard Cohen classics earlier this week as the Candian city remains in lockdown with ‘So Long, Marianne’, among a host of songs performed.
The event was organized by POP Montreal and URSA MTL. Among those taking part was Martha Wainwright, who acted as a virtual choirmaster. You can view her performance and footage of residents performing from their balcony below.
Alone Together – Martha Wainwright, en direct du balcon
Posted by URSA mtl on Sunday, March 22, 2020
A town in #Montreal #Quebec singing Leonard Cohen
F
ck The #coronavirus
#COVIDー19 #SocialDistancing pic.twitter.com/w0C5wn6ZJd
— Frank Jofo (@frankjofo) March 23, 2020
Leonard Cohen songs being sung on Crescent St. tonight in (ghost town) Montreal. #mtlmoments #Montreal #COVIDー19 #caremongering #StayAtHome #balconychallenge #solongmarianne #SocialDistancing #LeonardCohen #balconville pic.twitter.com/4ldd1uzyuA
— Susan Ferguson (@SueCFerg) March 23, 2020
The event was similar to what residents did in Italy over a week ago, when they sang songs from their windows and balconies.
Footage at the time also showed one woman singing a cover of Lewis Capaldi‘s ‘Someone You Loved’ from her balcony.
It came after the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte ordered all citizens to stay at home amid the continued pandemic.
Millions across the world are staying at home and practicing social distancing as the coronavirus outbreak continues. Leading US stars such as Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus have urged their fans to stay at home and self-isolate in the wake of the global outbreak.
Musicians are also using the opportunity to share live streams from their homes and studios and release new music.
The likes of Christine And The Queens, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, U2’s Bono and Yungblud have all live-streamed performances while The War On Drugs and Run The Jewels have both shared rough sketches of new music live from their studios.
Today (March 23), Father John Misty released a new live album, ‘Off-Key In Hamburg’, with all proceeds going to MusiCares’ Covid-19 relief fund charity.
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