How Adam Ezra created an online community of love and got us through the worst of the pandemic
“Please stay safe, keep on looking out for one another, and I will see you tomorrow.” This is how Adam Ezra has ended his livestream mini-concert every night for well over 365 consecutive nights. That’s right, he has performed on Facebook Live every single night since the very first Boston lockdown in March 2020. His nightly fans were quickly named “Gatherers,” and these little impromptu livestreams became a thing, called the Gathering Series.
Although it has evolved since then, last March it was just Adam, his guitar, and a computer screen. The night he found out his tour was canceled due to the pandemic, he turned on his camera and started talking and singing to his community. He then showed up night after night, and so did they, everyone thinking this scary time would last only a few weeks. Days became weeks became months… and now it’s been over a year of daily Gatherings. (As of this May 26th blog update, he is on Day 440. Somebody please call the Guinness Book of World Records!)
Sometimes he is joined by his extremely charming ‘bandies’: Corinna, Poche, and Alex. Through this talented folk group, we were able to vicariously travel and gather, two things I’d been missing terribly with all the restrictions. What began in Adam’s brick-walled apartment, eventually took us all around the northeast, to more than fifty outdoor live, socially-distanced backyard shows. He and his team set an example to other musicians, for how in-person shows, with strict safety rules, could resume during a pandemic (kudos to Robyn and the team!)
We livestreamed together around New England and New York. We participated in the Ramblethon, a 24-hour virtual musical event, which raised more than $60,000 for homeless veterans. Then on to Cape Cod, where we met his extended family, watched his little nieces and nephew dance, (and we witnessed him light a guitar on fire in the name of art!) As if that wasn’t enough of him sharing his life with us, he then took us to New Jersey for his wedding(!), and then across the country to Joshua Tree, California, where he amazed us each night with gorgeous views and Desert Oracle stories. He gradually became like an adventure tour guide, hiking up huge piles of rocks and battling the wind to give us the best views of the Mojave desert sunsets.
He did this all while playing amazing music and giving us something to look forward to, during a global pandemic, when there was little else in the world to look forward to. We were lonely, scared, bored, and isolated… but we quickly became hooked on his music and his sheer presence to make us optimistic for at least an hour nightly. He also shared stories about the music, about co-writing, about open tuning, about playing the piano, about falling in love…
He often gets a bit philosophical, and he has never lost track of the heavy reason why all this started and the lives lost along the way around the world. His lyrics to “The Toast,” which has become the anthem of the Gathering, could not be more perfect for these times:
Raise up your glasses
Let us drink to the time that we have
For these moments pass lightly and won’t come again
May our lives all burn brightly, right up til the end
May we live them with joyous abandon
He is humble and kind, and you can tell how much he loves his bandies, his wife, his friends, his family, and his fans. He gives 150% to make sure his Gatherers have an awesome experience every night.
Personally, I am not very active on the live Chat Box, where fans can type comments during the show, but many people take part. Thousands of comments and emojis fly by so quickly, it sometimes makes me wonder if anyone is even listening to the music. But indeed, they are! They are requesting songs and correcting his lyrics, answering trivia questions, teasing him for poor tuning, and making up Gathering ‘rules’.
They are also becoming friends with each other, revealing personal stories and sharing losses, offering words of comfort, welcoming newcomers, wishing each other Happy Birthday, and making each other emoji-smile. There is already talk of creating an “Ezra-palooza-type” overnight camp soon where everyone could meet in person. #joyousabandonindeed
If you had told me a year ago I would be glued to my computer screen, smiling, raising my glass, and singing the same closing song each night with strangers, I would have told you that you were insane. However, in reality, listening to the Gathering has earned a checkbox on my daily healthy-habit-tracker, right in between “practice yoga” and “drink water.”
I first saw The Adam Ezra Group years ago as an opening act at Club Passim. I have fond memories of those times and his music always brings me back to my 20s. I moved from Boston to London in 2017. Therefore I was in a different time zone when I noticed that the Gathering series was happening around May 2020. I was so captivated that I quickly rewatched all the previous episodes to “catch up.” You might think after so many nights, that it would get boring or repetitive, but it never does. Adam mixes it up between new music, old favorites, tributes, requests, trivia, and guests (we love you, Corinna & Turtle!) so it is always compelling and entertaining.
Adam also offers immense doses of positivity, humor, and joy. Not to say that he hasn’t been authentic, or that he hasn’t shown us fear, uncertainty, doubt, and exhaustion. He has, both through his music and in his banter. But he is somehow able to encompass all of the pain and frustration of life eloquently and joyfully. He always seems to know just what to say. He has a rare combination of traits: part performer, part philosopher, part comedian, part activist, part big brother, part fearless friend…
“You are welcome here,” is one of his recurring mantras. His ongoing themes are about connection and belonging, which tap into exactly what we needed this year. He clearly had already built an amazing in-person community throughout his 20+ year career. To have that translate so well into an online forum speaks to both his dedication and charm. The nightly Gatherers are an eclectic mix of long-time fans and newcomers who have found him (or re-found him, like me) during the pandemic. His online reach is now international and he gets extra giddy when he sees Gatherers from South America and around the world.
He assures us he is not doing this alone, and for that, he is grateful. He has an amazing team of volunteers and friends and bandies. He has an incredible sound engineer (Go, Riley!) and fun logos (Dan!), and even a couple carefully chosen sponsors. But man, he carries the show with so much thoughtfulness and passion while hosting and remembering [almost] all the words to hundreds of songs. He is the one who shows up every day, in real-time, never after the fact. Personally, I cannot imagine waking up from a nap, singing with COVID symptoms, rushing back from a hike, or logging online from a moving van, to perform in front of hundreds, (to be recorded and viewed later by thousands!) without ever taking a day off.
He cleverly made us feel that we were helping him this year. I suppose that could be true. Creators need to create and musicians need an audience. And the pandemic was scary for him too. But you can tell through the comments in the Chat Box, the posts on his crazy fan page, and the drawings and many gifts that have been sent to him, that he means so much to this community. It’s hard to express here how much emotion comes from the group during these shows, from sheer laughter to the now-famous Rule #3 (it’s OK to cry at a Gathering).
Alas, all good things must either come to an end or evolve. Adam has recently revealed that when he hits [the incredibly amazing milestone of] 500 Gathering shows, he will [understandably] shift to a different pace. He will no longer perform for us every night. It’s the right time for this. As weird as it will be to not gather nightly, the series has done its job. It was there while we needed it the most. It kept us “ahead of the rain.”
The world is looking brighter. We are getting vaccinated and emerging from lockdowns. Summer is coming. The band is performing at outdoor venues again. Hosts are constructing huge stages in their backyards. Fans are showing up in droves wearing AEG pajamas. Life is good. Adam and his wife, Alley, are expecting a baby(!) There is no better time to shift. And fortunately for us, Adam has vowed to continue some form of livestream presence, just not every day.
As things get brighter, I want to remember how important the Gathering series was when things were dark. I truly believe Adam and his team carried us through the worst days and nights. By consistently showing up, sharing his talent, and appreciating his community, he no doubt had a massive impact in helping us feel less alone, and even, dare I say… inspired, during a historically lonely, uninspiring time. Personally, I know I will look back at this series as a bright spot amidst the gloom. For that, I simply want to raise a glass and say, Thanks, Adam.
