Portugal's government announced restrictions on several areas of Greater Lisbon from 1 July, after reports of parties that attracted as many as 1,000 revellers. In Paris, the police clashed with the thousands who thronged to Paris’s Canal Saint-Martin and Marais district for the annual Fête de la Musique. In Berlin, more than 100 officers broke up a demonstration that turned into a spontaneous, 3,000-person party. In England, the police are grappling with a proliferation of illegal parties. In Spain, the authorities slapped a €10,400 fine on Belgium’s Prince Joachim after the royal breached the country’s quarantine rules to attend a party in southern Spain; he later tested positive for the virus. Guardian suggests these parties are to blame for the surge in new Covid-19 cases in the last two weeks.

Spain authorities announced new rules pertaining to nightclubs and outdoor venues of Ibiza in the context of COVID-19, with the intention, it seems, to change the tourist profile of Ibiza to be less of a party island. For indoor spaces, the rules state that only venues with a stated capacity of 300 or less are allowed to open for the season and will only be allowed to open at one-third capacity, and the people inside will have to be seated. The decree approved by the Balearic government - which will last for five years - outlaws pub crawling, party boats and "perilous practices" such as jumping from balconies. Establishments in the zones that sell alcohol will need to close between 9:30 p.m. and 8 a.m.

The World Health Organisation has issued their latest recommendations on holding mass gatherings during the current coronavirus pandemic advising that governments and local authorities can consider allowing mass gatherings to take place when it is safe to do so, Republic World reports. "Mass gatherings are not merely recreational events; they have important implications on the psychological well-being of large number of individuals (eg religious events), can play an important role in promoting healthy behaviours (eg. sports), provide employment for a great number of people, and could leave a legacy of improved assets or capacities developed as a result of hosting a mass gathering event” - WHO suggests in their latest recommendations. “Since mass gatherings have substantial political, cultural, social, and economic implications, authorities should assess the importance and necessity of an event and consider the option that it may take place, provided all associated public health risks are adequately addressed and mitigated”.

Death Angel drummer Will Carroll contracted COVID-19 while on a European tour in March, and during a medically induced 12-day coma as a result of his illness, the artist claims he had met Satan. Well, he didn't really like it, as he's told the San Francisco Chronicle - "I'm still going to listen to Satanic metal, and I still love Deicide and bands like that. As for my personal life and my experience of what I went through, I don't think Satan's quite as cool as I used to". He says he'll consume less alcohol and drugs now, too, Exclaim reports.

There will be four stages in corona-influenced albums, Mark, My Words argues: Insanity and bewilderment of the isolation nation; calming records about the routine, zen-like serenity of home quarantine; Coronapunk stage demanding the heads of the political class; Pub. But, what is it that we really need" - "Albums about the crisis will get tired very quickly; albums designed to help us through it, on the other hand, will remain encased in the generational amber. It’s time, already, to start singing for when we’re winning".

A 29-year-old Seoul man visited five clubs and bars in a Seoul neighborhood on a busy weekend night and was later tested positive for COVID-19. After that incident, 119 new infections have been traced back to the 29-year-old, Korean authorities have announced. Additional 5,517 fellow clubgoers have been contacted in the process. A total of more than 11,000 people had been in the general area on the night in question, Statista.com reports.

Sci-fi rockers Devo shared an online store featuring coronavirus merchandise. Offerings include themed face masks and Devo’s iconic red energy dome hats with an attached clear plastic face protector. The band explains: "Once the dome was placed on your head it recycled the electrical energy that regularly escapes from your brain. People of course laughed. Now the dome is no longer a source of controversy or derision. Its popularity is a sort of proof that De-evolution is real!".

Britain’s hospital radio stations are one of the less well-known features of its health system: tiny operations, staffed by volunteers, who mostly play patient requests. Patients can normally listen to the shows, which are heavy on chart music and old hits, using headphones connected to an entertainment unit beside their beds. There are still over 200 such stations, and some claim they have found themselves more useful than ever during the pandemic, providing a human connection to patients who would otherwise be alone, New York Times reports.

he New York Times reports on a beautiful story - accomplished classical musicians like Molly Carr and Andrew Janss have started playing at the New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital in Manhattan - through patients' iPhones or iPads. Chamber music players, winners of international competitions and prizes, teachers at prestigious music schools perform from California, Kentucky, Maine, Virginia, Massachusetts and New York. They play the music of Bach, Brahms, the Beatles, Edith Piaf...

Ireland government announced exit plan from coronavirus lockdown, revealing that festivals with the appropriate distance between individuals practiced could return in August, NME reports. The final, fifth phase – which will be introduced on August 10 – mentions the return of larger social gatherings, including music festivals, but only “in accordance with both indoor and outdoor number restrictions and where social distancing can be complied with”.

Sweden has allowed for gigs with up to a capacity of 40 people to take place with appropriate social distancing measures in place, and Spain is looking to phase in live music events from May in a number of stages with gradually increasing capacities, NME reports about the future of live shows. There are several ideas on how to organize future shows, obeying the rules of social distancing - a combination of physical and digital tickets so that some fans can pay to watch online. Some venues may insist on tracking apps or temperature checks, so they're sure none of the attendees is coronavirus-positive. Shows will be smaller, with several dozen people in the audience, so it's expected that certain genres will become bigger, specifically acoustic gigs.

Walk-through disinfectant machines, plus smart wristbands worn by game-day workers that issue alerts when they cross social distance boundaries, are among the virus technology products quickly coming to market as arenas, stadiums and other public assembly facilities search for tools to provide greater protection for customers and staff - Pollstar reports on a new product. It is being tested in Hong Kong. Hopefully, everybody's not gonna start smelling funny.

The news are bad, spending time indoors is getting harder and harder, so the music industry wants more uplifting music - “labels and artists are asking for more positive songs, less heartbreak”, songwriter Nate Cyphert told Rolling Stone. “Requests are coming in for more optimistic, upbeat songs for artists, and we have lots of writers that are already on it,” adds Tuff Morgan, vice president of A&R at the music publisher Peermusic.

Only 40% of Americans who regularly attend concerts and other similar events say they would return to shows before a coronavirus vaccine exists, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll suggests. Based on interviews with 4,429 American adults, another 40% say they’d remain home pending a vaccine, while the remaining 20% said they either don’t know what they’ll do or may never attend such events again.

Post Malone’s Nirvana tribute livestream on YouTube last weekend raised more than $500,000 for coronavirus relief, CNN reports. Google matched $2 for each $1 donation. The event raised $500,000, including Google's match. Over $4.3 million has been raised in total for the United Nations Foundation's Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund for The World Health Organization.

Rapper Lil Dicky is celebrating the first anniversary of his animated short film 'Earth' by donating $800,000 to help combat climate change and contribute to COVID-19 relief, All Hip Hop reports. "The fight to save this planet isn't even close to over, and we're going to have to amplify our efforts way more to turn this thing around. Because pretty soon, it'll be too late" - Lil Dicky said, adding - "even though times have never been scarier with the COVID-19 pandemic, it has shown me something: that we can modify our day-to-day behavior to adapt to a crisis when it's right in front of us". Rapper and entrepreneur Sean "Diddy" Combs has linked with The National Bankers Association to launch a new platform "Our Fair Share" to help minority-owned small businesses get access to the second round of Paycheck Protection Program Funding, PR Newswire reports.

A lovely article in Pitchfork about bands being humane in this time of coronavirus pandemic. Post-hardcore band Thursday had their tour cancelled, which left them with lots of T-shirts stockpiled to sell on tour. They began donating the fabric to grassroots sewing collectives to make face masks. They also started selling factory-made Thursday-branded facemasks on their website, with proceeds going toward masks for frontline healthcare workers. Emo band Taking Back Sunday put together its own benefit initiative, selling various merch items from their inventory at discounted prices to raise money for masks. Together, Thursday and Taking Back Sunday have funded over 4,500 masks for medical professionals. Psych-folk guitarist and songwriter Kendra Amalie turned her merch inventory into cloth masks, doing the cutting and sewing at home herself, and sending them to people who needed them in her local community. My Chemical Romance is selling fabric face masks to benefit MusiCares’ COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Kanye West's charitable collaboration has partnered with Chic-fil-A to help Christian non-profit the Los Angeles Dream Center provide food and other items to those in need since March. This partnership has helped provide more than 14,000 meals every single day, 300,000 meals in total to the needy in Los Angeles, CBN reports. In similar news, Cash Money’s Bryan "Birdman" Williams has offered to pay the rent for people hit hard by the devasting coronavirus pandemic in New Orleans, All Hip Hop reports.

Large festivals, keen not to lose a year’s worth of planning and income, are rescheduling for after the pandemic has passed its peak in summer, but before a potential second wave of infection in winter. In the UK, the large-scale Newcastle indie festival This Is Tomorrow has been moved from May to August. In September and October there are revised dates for Detroit’s Movement, Tennessee’s Bonnaroo, EDC in Las Vegas and both legs of Coachella in California. In Ibiza, a marketing blitz is under way to move spring events to autumn. The Guardian is reporting on the possibility of big gatherings in the autumn, and on the willingness of fans to attend such events.

Saturday’s star-studded 'One World: Together at Home' virtual concert raised $127.9 million for health care workers and coronavirus relief, according to Global Citizen. The globally broadcasted performances were organized by the World Health Organization and Global Citizen, in collaboration with Lady Gaga, who also sang during the two-hour live stream. Of the whopping $127.9 million total, $55.1 million will go to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, and $72.8 million will benefit local and regional responders.

Ticketmaster is set to start offering refunds in May for over 18,000 shows affected by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Billboard reports. Once a postponed live performance has confirmed its rescheduled dates, fans who have purchased tickets via Ticketmaster will be emailed to offer the option of refunding their purchase. If the refund is not accepted within 30 days, the ticket will remain valid for the rescheduled dates. If the show is cancelled, it will be refunded automatically. Live Nation, who merged with Ticketmaster in 2010, are also running a scheme called ‘Rock When You’re Ready’, which allows fans to receive 150% credit for their tickets to be used on a future Live Nation event. They can also donate tickets to health workers, via a scheme called ‘Hero Nation’. In total, so far, the company has 55,000 events on its platform representing $2 billion in ticket sales for all of 2020.

NME reports from Plan B, a Malmö venue - the only one in Europe, legally at least, that continues to put on shows. In a room that can hold 350, capacity is restricted to 40 punters – plus a sound engineer, two members of staff and the band, bringing the number up to the guidelines of 50 people in total. Punters are not allowed to walk up to the bar; card machine-wielding staff operate a table service of sorts by milling around the crowd taking orders. Shoegaze trio Spunsugar played - "everyone starts off a little shy, hanging near the back and the sides before slowly being drawn forward. Heads nod and feet tap enthusiastically; there’s even a little dancing. What began with an air of uncertainty ends in triumph, joy, and chants for 'One! More! song!' Everyone orders more drinks".

Queen guitarist Brian May has suggested, in NME interview, the coronavirus pandemic could have been avoided if everyone ate a vegan diet - "That's a central issue here, this pandemic seemed to come from people eating animals and it's becoming more well known that eating animals is not the greatest thing for our health". Similarly, animal rights activist Paul McCartney has called for a ban on all Chinese wet markets while blaming the meat and produce trade posts for the spread of coronavirus, LA Times reports. Speaking with Howard Stern in a new interview, McCartney also called the practice of Asian live animal markets "medieval," comparing their activities to slavery.

"It's difficult to imagine us getting together in the thousands anytime soon, so I think we should be prepared for that this year" Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti told CNN. Earlier, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio called large public gatherings "one of the last things that we bring back... The last thing I want to do is gather 10,000, 20,000, 50,000 people in one place, that's like the exact opposite of social distancing".

"It’s not just that songs seem to have taken on new, apposite resonances given the current situation, but music that you unexpectedly find yourself leaning towards, because you find it chimes with your mood: it’s comforting, elevating or transporting" - Alexis Petridis says in an analysis of fans' music listening habits. His Guardian colleague Ben Beaumont-Thomas sees a change coming in rap lyrics - "like a bond market, the most shallow rap lyricism needs constant activity to keep it alive – without an engine of expenditure, or antipathy stoked by confected beef, their subject matter collapses".

Lee Konitz, the celebrated jazz saxophonist and last surviving performer in Miles Davis’ 'Birth of the Cool' sessions, died Wednesday (April 15) due to complications with COVID-19, NPR reports. He was 92. He was mentored by the esteemed blind pianist Lennie Tristano, befriended his fellow saxophonist Charlie Parker, and worked under bandleaders such as Stan Kenton and Claude Thornhill. Most famously, he played with Davis’ nonet on their “Birth of the Cool” Capitol recordings, a landmark in post-bebop jazz.

U2 have pledged to donate €10 million for personal protective equipment (PPE) for Irish frontline medics in the fight against coronavirus. “I just don’t think this is the moment for U2 to be doing a sort of Kumbaya thing", Bono said The Irish Times - "It just doesn’t feel right for me – it feels like a time for action rather than words”.

In the early 1400s, English composer John Cooke composed 'Stella celi', referencing the Black Plague which wiped out half of Europe, NPR wrote in an article about classical compositions inspired by epidemics throughout history. Johann Sebastian Bach wrote 'Cantata No. 25' in 1723, just a year after the great plague of Marseille, France ended, leaving over 100,000 people dead. American composer John Corigliano wrote his 'Symphony No. 1', sometimes referred to as the 'AIDS Symphony', as a heart-on-sleeve elegy for the many friends Corigliano lost to HIV/AIDS in the 1980s; the disease took 32 million lives by now. Coronavirus is deadly but inspirational as well - composer Lisa Bielawa is writing a choral work 'Broadcast from Home', built on testimonials the composer is collecting via social media from individuals in self-isolation or self-quarantine; a "virtual" orchestra and chorus of about 25 musicians from around the country are recording their own parts at home and sending them to Bielawa to stitch together.

Bands and festivals are hoping that they'll restart in the fall, maybe even in late summer, but Zeke Emanuel, oncologist, bioethicist, senior fellow at the American Center for American Progress is far more pessimistic. His estimate, given to the New York Times, is it'll take a year and a half for concerts to begin again: "Restarting the economy has to be done in stages, and it does have to start with more physical distancing at a work site that allows people who are at lower risk to come back. Certain kinds of construction, or manufacturing or offices, in which you can maintain six-foot distances are more reasonable to start sooner. Larger gatherings — conferences, concerts, sporting events — when people say they’re going to reschedule this conference or graduation event for October 2020, I have no idea how they think that’s a plausible possibility. I think those things will be the last to return. Realistically we’re talking fall 2021 at the earliest".

Everybody is isolated, many are alone, so everyone wants some connection, The Atlantic argues in an excellent article about livestreams. No wonder the Instagram live hip hop battles are so popular, live-streamed concerts in which performers take requests have healthy viewership also, as well as live-streamed DJ sets in which viewers can see other people dancing at home. Some artists are also focusing on interactivity. Grimes put out a music video with a green-screen background on which fans were supposed to doodle, The Armed released audio stems of a song they wanted others to finish, Charli XCX is doing a similar thing with her new album.