Artists find new stage to reach their fans during Coronavirus outbreak

LITTLE ROCK, Ark, – As events and shows are canceled across the country for the foreseeable future due to the Covid-19 outbreak, musicians are having to find other ways to get their music out there. One Arkansas duo is finding a new stage for their craft and helping other artists do the same thing.

For a musician, playing in front of a crowd is what they live for.

“There’s nothing like it,” musician Susan Erwin Prowse said.

Now those seats are empty.

“We are losing work,” Prowse said.

Susan is half of the duo Cliff & Susan and they are regulars at Oaklawn Casino. Now that the casino is closed and shows are cancelled they are finding new ways to be heard.

“We’re becoming creative in this environment,” Susan said.

They’re converting their venue into their at-home studio. The stage is Facebook Live and the applause is coming from likes and comments.

“People have actually found us all over the world now,” Susan said.

“We’ve gotten so many messages from people saying thank you so much for doing this,” Cliff Prowse said.

With this success, they’re helping artists across the state put on these at home concerts.

“With all of the challenges we are met with we just wanted to really provide a way to unite together and help each other navigate anything from doing their shows online to how to promote those,” Susan said.

While it may not be the same as performing in front of thousands of screaming fans, it’s a way to still do what they love while stuck at home.

Cliff & Susan have a request live stream and those can be made through the comments on their Facebook page. They have also created a website to find all the at-home concerts and resources for artists who are struggling right now. You can find that website here.