A Brooklyn nightclub recreated itself in 'Minecraft' to host a virtual concert and raise money for coronavirus relief — see what it was like

Mary MeisenzahlApr 17, 2020, 23:59 IST

"Minecraft" concert.Open Pit

On Saturday, a group of bands and DJs performed at a completely virtual music festival in "Minecraft."
The festival was also a fundraiser for coronavirus relief.
It was held in a scale recreation of Elsewhere, a Brooklyn music venue called "Elsewither" for the night.
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Just about anything can be recreated in "Minecraft," from graduation ceremonies to entire college campuses, and now, a music festival.

Nether Meant, the festival, was held Saturday night in a "Minecraft" recreation of Brooklyn music venue Elsewhere to raise money for coronavirus related charity efforts.

Elsewhere is currently closed under stay-at-home orders in New York, but for the night it became Elsewither online. Virtual events group Open Pit hosted the event, with bands including American Football and Anamanagouchi, and the singer behind some of the biggest TikTok trends, Doja Cat, even made a surprise appearance.

The block-building game "Minecraft," which Microsoft bought in 2014 for $2.5 billion, has been one of the most popular games worldwide over the last 10 years. As of September, it had a staggering 112 million active players every month, a number that has reportedly grown to 145 million.

Here's what the virtual music festival was like.

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While it's unclear when concert venues will be able to reopen, Open Pit says it has more "Minecraft" festivals planned.

They've previously hosted "Minecraft" concerts called Coalchella, Fire Festival, and Mine Gala.

Digital event organizers Open Pit, who were behind this festival, have held other virtual concerts in the past, though this was the largest yet.

In the parody, Doja Cat sang "Day to night to morning/ Minecraft is never boring!".

Singer Doja Cat joined the festival during one DJ's set to perform a parody of her popular song "Say So."

Merch was also available. This "Minecraft" avatar is wearing a shirt that says "i literally went to the american football house in minecraft."

Though the event was free, attendees were encouraged to donate to a coronavirus relief fund through Good360.

Donate here

Everything worked eventually though, and the Twitch stream ended up with more than 100,000 unique viewers.

Like at a real concert, attendees reported some hitches, like trolls and issues playing the music streams.

Attendees could also pay real money for access to VIP areas and a Discord server with the artists, a kind of virtual meet and greet.

Like a real concert venue, the room had seating areas and a bar.

According to Travis M. Andrews at The Washington Post, who attended the event, guests did their best to dance, and at one point even attempted something like crowd surfing.

Source: The Washington Post

According to Travis M. Andrews at The Washington Post, who attended the event, guests did their best to dance, and at one point even attempted something like crowd surfing.

Source: The Washington Post

Different artists took turns playing their sets, which were prerecorded and streamed on Twitch.

Then, they could interact with other concertgoers, and chat in the Discord server.

For a more immersive experience, fans could join the concert in Minecraft for free.

Through Twitch, viewers could listen to prerecorded performances and watch the action in "Minecraft" without needing to download the game.

The easiest option was simply joining the Twitch stream.

Fans had a few options for engaging with the show.

Headliners American Football appeared as themselves, to the best that "Minecraft's" format allows.

...including the courtyard.

Outdoor spaces were recreated too...

...and even the roof deck.

...the stage...

They had the main room...

Guests could enter and see the coat check, just like the the physical venue.

Elsewhere was fully recreated as Elsewither for the event.

The festival took advantage of all the possibilities "Minecraft" offers.

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A Brooklyn nightclub recreated itself in 'Minecraft' to host a virtual concert and raise money for coronavirus relief — see what it was like

While it's unclear when concert venues will be able to reopen, Open Pit says it has more "Minecraft" festivals planned.

They've previously hosted "Minecraft" concerts called Coalchella, Fire Festival, and Mine Gala.

Digital event organizers Open Pit, who were behind this festival, have held other virtual concerts in the past, though this was the largest yet.

In the parody, Doja Cat sang "Day to night to morning/ Minecraft is never boring!".

Singer Doja Cat joined the festival during one DJ's set to perform a parody of her popular song "Say So."

Merch was also available. This "Minecraft" avatar is wearing a shirt that says "i literally went to the american football house in minecraft."

Though the event was free, attendees were encouraged to donate to a coronavirus relief fund through Good360.

Everything worked eventually though, and the Twitch stream ended up with more than 100,000 unique viewers.

Like at a real concert, attendees reported some hitches, like trolls and issues playing the music streams.

Attendees could also pay real money for access to VIP areas and a Discord server with the artists, a kind of virtual meet and greet.

Like a real concert venue, the room had seating areas and a bar.

According to Travis M. Andrews at The Washington Post, who attended the event, guests did their best to dance, and at one point even attempted something like crowd surfing.

Different artists took turns playing their sets, which were prerecorded and streamed on Twitch.

Then, they could interact with other concertgoers, and chat in the Discord server.

For a more immersive experience, fans could join the concert in Minecraft for free.

Through Twitch, viewers could listen to prerecorded performances and watch the action in "Minecraft" without needing to download the game.

The easiest option was simply joining the Twitch stream.

Fans had a few options for engaging with the show.

Headliners American Football appeared as themselves, to the best that "Minecraft's" format allows.

...including the courtyard.

Outdoor spaces were recreated too...

...and even the roof deck.

...the stage...

They had the main room...

Guests could enter and see the coat check, just like the the physical venue.

Elsewhere was fully recreated as Elsewither for the event.

The festival took advantage of all the possibilities "Minecraft" offers.