This paper offers an explorative analysis of the online social practices of livestreamed concerts as one of the most popular cultural outlets during the COVID-19 imposed 'lockdown' in Europe. Ritual theory is used to investigate the potential of these virtual concerts in generating a collective consciousness, and the related feelings of social solidarity and resilience, specifically important in times of physical isolation. Through a thematic content analysis of the comments (n = 1501) posted during livestreamed techno concerts in the Netherlands, we find that both old and new ritual actions are used to form online communities. While these ritual activities mark participation and remind members of a previous collective feeling, the omission of visceral elements of a physical audience hampers the establishment of a renewed sense of social solidarity.

The last few decades have seen a surge in the consumption of locally produced popular music in the West. Domestic music – music made by national artists and sung in the national language – has gained increasing popularity, specifically within the lower to middle-class segments of the native population. This article uses the Dutch music genre levenslied to explore this growing trend. From a neo-Durkheimian perspective, we can assume the presence of collective effervescence – a shared intensified mood drawn from collective assembly. However, it is less clear how this collectivity is brought about and experienced. In other words, what are the requirements for this state of effervescence to occur? Looking not only at the totems these concertgoers celebrate but also the established symbolic boundaries, can help us understand how the group defines itself, adding to our knowledge of the rise in popularity of domestic music. We interviewed 20 concertgoers about their experience of these concerts. The analysis finds that the establishment of collectivity is influenced by three symbolic boundaries: (1) intercultural, (2) interclass, and (3) intraclass. Through the negative othering of ethnic monitories – those considered socially higher, and those considered morally lower than themselves – the audiences of these concerts glorify a very narrow image of Dutchness, obtaining a sense of self-worth through the celebration of an idealized national image rooted in nostalgia. The increasing popularity of levenslied concerts (and domestic music more generally) can, therefore, be understood in relation to broader societal changes and connected with a ‘squeezed middle’ class, clinging to tradition and their declining social position.

Recent years have seen mediated concerts grow in popularity. As physical events, concerts accommodate both small‐ and large‐scale interaction. However, the extent to which these interactions establish emotional energy online is debated. Combining video observations and video elicitation interviews with participants of live music on the online platform Twitch, this paper explores this growing form of music consumption while also adding to the debate on the appropriateness of the virtual sphere in accommodating successful interaction rituals. It finds that the online sphere is more suited to small‐scale interaction. Large‐scale interaction rituals are unsuccessful, suffering from a context collapse, social convergence, and no rhythmic entrainment.

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