THE PEATIX ONLINE EVENT FESTIVAL
Online ticketing platform Peatix is marking the launch of its live-streaming feature Peatix Live - which allows event organisers to create paid online live experiences - with a 12 hour-long music and lifestyle festival tomorrow.
Singaporean and Malaysian acts, such as home-grown psych-rock band Beakers in Space and reggae artist Masia One, are in the line-up.
Masia One will perform tracks from her forthcoming EP Freedom Fades (7 to 8pm) in a segment that includes chats with producers and songwriters from around the world.
The programme also includes a capoeira (Afro-Brazilian martial art) workout and a beat-box workshop.
WHERE: peatixonlinefest.peatix.com WHEN: Tomorrow, 11am to 11pm ADMISSION: $35 for an all-access festival pass
R&B
ALICIA
Alicia Keys
RCA
3.5 Stars
Like many of her fellow musicians, American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys has also dropped a record reflective of the times.
Whether she is raising a rallying cry for young teachers, student doctors and "single mothers waiting on a cheque to come" on Underdog, or denouncing police brutality on Perfect Way To Die - a piano ballad written from the perspective of a grieving mother whose son has been gunned down by the police - Keys' work on her seventh album is timely.
But nothing ever feels too heavy or world weary. Instead, she does what she does best - warm, hopeful and uplifting music.
"Cause the world needs love, don't we all know," she sings on Jill Scott, a fan-girl tribute to the American neo-soul singer, in which Keys channels Scott's style and even gets her to cameo on it.
Two decades on from her R&B/pop beginnings, Keys' sound is injected with a freshness, mostly by way of her collaborators.
British singer Sampha's striking tone offsets Keys' pretty vocals on the slow burning 3 Hour Drive, while the pulsing Me x 7 plays off American rapper Tierra Whack's original, staccato-laced flow.
Ultimately, this is inoffensive, accessible music for healing and taking a break.
"We're all in this boat forever, and we're sailing towards the future and it's alright," she sings on Authors Of Forever, offering a glimmer of hope for the pandemic-weary listener.
BEYOND THE LABEL FEST
Catch Singaporean singers Kit Chan, Stefanie Sun and Taufik Batisah performing as part of Beyond The Label Fest, a virtual festival which supports mental wellness.
Hosted by singers Benjamin Kheng and Inch Chua on Facebook Live, the concert will also feature the debut of songs that trace the emotional journey of a person with mental illness and that advocate mental health awareness.
The tunes are by 3am Music Collective - a group of musicians that includes Beverly Morata, Jack and Rai, MICapella's Eugene Yip, the T'ang Quartet's Leslie Tan and Yu-Ying Ng.
WHERE: bit.ly/3kLKoOB WHEN: Sunday, 8pm
