Silent Nights

Christmas Eve will mark the 286th night without live music since COVID-19 shut down the music industry on March 13, 2020.

This year the familiar Christmas carol, Silent Night, hits too close to home for our freelance musician community in New England. Freelancers provide the soundtrack to our holidays. They are on stage for Holiday Pops, in the pit of the Nutcracker, in Celtic bands at the pubs, in Jazz and Blues bands in the clubs; they provide music for your Christmas Eve church service and your company holiday party. They are the brass band outside the mall when you go shopping and they are the carolers at your town's street festival. This year all is quiet. The silence is disappointing for everyone, but it is devastating for the musicians who make their living creating that music.

We asked musicians to post a video of their playing or singing Silent Night to show support for live music and each other. Here are a few submissions to our Silent Night Challenge.