The coronavirus pandemic has forced musicians and artists alike to get creative.
The indie pop band MisterWives released their third album, "SUPERBLOOM," this summer, and in a normal year, they'd be on tour right now. However, concerts and events are still on pause as death tolls continue to rise in the U.S.
"Not being able to tour has been pretty devastating. Especially since touring is our favorite part of the whole process; you know, you make a record, and then it's completely transformed and brought to life because of the audience," MisterWives frontrunner Mandy Lee told TODAY.
That lack of human contact has been most detrimental to the band.
"So not getting to connect with people in person has been really hard," Lee says.
Citi is a presenting sponsor of this experience and Citi told us about the event. Citi is also a sponsor of the Citi Music Series on TODAY.
With no way to safely tour, the band insisted on hosting a livestream concert for their fans, but wanted it to be as visually immersive as possible.
"Our fans deserve the best possible thing we can make — they're the greatest part of the show. So we're like, what's the next best thing?"
With a small crew and a lot of creativity, they shot the livestream at the Rochester Institute of Technology with strict COVID-19 protocols in place.
On Dec. 12, their vision came to life when they debuted "SUPERBLOOM: The Live Dream" — and it did not disappoint.
With upbeat choreography, wardrobe and set changes, it was a performance that transported fans right back to the theater. Each song represented a different chapter of Lee's story.
"Me and the band have never gone this long being apart," she said. "We haven't seen each other since last February, which was our last show. So that was the best gift, and it just all came together. This was our reunion. It was the first time we got to play together, let alone this album. This is the first time I got to play this album live, which was really special."
Lee says the experience changed her perspective on how she will look at live shows moving forward.
"For our whole career now, for eight years, it's just been on tour, and you've never had time to really sit and have time to think about, 'OK, how can we reimagine the show?' So, it's been amazing to be like, OK, I want to bring this on the road. I want to look at shows differently; how can we make it more immersive and more, and have a narrative and feel kind of like akin to theatre, you know? So that has been fun."
Lee can't wait until the day she can perform for an audience in person again, but in the meantime, the singer says she's already brainstorming more ideas for innovative livestream events.
"It was really amazing to come together for this very special, unique project that without the pandemic, we would have never gotten the chance to do something like this," she said. "So that has been a really big silver lining for us."
"When you're limited, it sometimes pushes you to be more creative"
Mandy Lee
"SUPERBLOOM" gives listeners a peek into the chronological events of Lee's journey as she wades through the waters of an emotional divorce.
The struggle — and personal growth as a result — is what motivated Lee to keep writing, even when things got tough.
"I was standing amongst all of these poppies that weren't supposed to grow in this desert terrain and it really hit me in that moment. You know, that I felt so much like these flowers that were against all odds persevered, and their resilience helped them punch through really difficult times."
Lee hopes that "SUPERBLOOM" inspires people to have hope and to believe in themselves.
"I hope that, you know, if I can get through everything that I've been through, I hope that it just allows people to believe in themselves that they can make it to the other side, that they can super bloom."
Interested in watching "SUPERBLOOM: The Live Dream"? There's an encore showing on Thursday, Dec. 17, at 9:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. EST — if you want to buy a ticket, tickets are available here.
