With large gatherings still not allowed because of COVID-19, Allerton Park and Retreat Center and WILL Classical are teaming up to bring listeners a virtual concert experience this weekend.
The Summer Solstice Concert Cruise will feature Champaign native Viktor Krauss and his band, with a performance specifically recorded with Allerton in mind. You can hear it Saturday at 7pm on WILL FM 90.9 or through a live stream at our website.
Illinois Public Media’s Brian Moline spoke with Viktor Krauss about this virtual concert and how it came about.
Brian Moline talks with Viktor Krauss about his virual concert Saturday evening.
“The people at Allerton, namely Derek Peterson and Ashley Sims, had contacted me when the season was essentially canceled,” Krauss said, “and was (sic) trying to figure out a way that they could do some kind of virtual concert … to make it feel like the series was still happening.”
He says he and his band recorded the concert about two weeks ago at his parents’ farm outside of Nashville, and tried to program their performance to reflect the atmosphere at Allerton Park.
“I thought other than it being appropriate to be outside, I wanted to keep it that way,” Krauss said. “We could have gone to a building somewhere and stood the appropriate distance away from each other, but I really thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if people are driving out there that they have some of the same sounds of nature?'”
Krauss says he appreciates the opportunity to share this concert during COVID-19, which has been a challenging time for him and other performing artists.
“Usually about two weeks from now, I would have been going on tour with Lyle Lovett for about two months,” Krauss said. “Everything just got wiped out. Management isn’t even talking about the possibility of touring until 2021. I think of all the people in similar professions who require an audience.”
You can find a map of Allerton and downtown Monticello below.
