3rd W3dn35day Online Gigs
3rd W3dn3sday Online Gigs
2026 has seen the emergence of a fantastic new series of events, the 3rd W3dn35day online gigs, facilitated by @thisoccasionalsociety on Gravitons’ @strim.
With a focus on electronic and experimental music the 3rd W3dn35day gigs are at 8pm UTC on the third Wednesday of each month. They come a day before our own NHAM in Concert events, making the third week of each month a live gig week for music lovers in the Fediverse.
For full details of who is playing each time check our events page.
3rd W3dn35day in a Nutshell
An idiosyncratic and eclectic curated mix of electronic and experimental acts drawn from across the Fediverse.
With an emphasis on diversity, the intention is to create a space to connect, hear new music and, as artists, try new things.
The background
The seed for the 3rd W3dn35day series of online gigs was planted when Meljoann (@meljoann) invited me (@thisoccasionalsociety) to be part of the Gravitons Festival, an annual series of online gigs.
Online gigs had been on my ‘roadmap’ for the future, but at the point Mel asked, I was uncertain about multiple technical aspects, concerned whether I was ‘ready’ and not even sure what I’d do as part of an online gig. This was all quite apart from wondering, “if I did something online, would anyone even see it?”
Mel’s enthusiasm and the clear instructions from her and others from the Gravitons team were the friendly push I needed. Opportunities to experiment and undertake ‘technical rehearsals’ in advance, turned something I’d felt was confusing and daunting into a series of relatively straightforward steps, where helpful support and encouragement were available when needed.
Having a clear date to work towards meant I had plenty of notice, thinking time and space to undertake dry runs and experiments. The technical stuff was actually surprisingly straightforward – and I speak here as someone not at all technical. Being part of something bigger removed any lingering doubts about ‘playing to no-one’ (although I told myself that would be great too).
During the festival, Mel offered access to the platform if acts wanted to do other online gigs, and San Franciscan artist electric.kitchen (@ek) expressed an interest. This was the spark.
The ethos
- Keep the online gigs regular to make it easy to remember and promote whilst not being too draining to administer.
- Approach people and plan well in advance to give artists (and me) as much notice as possible, hopefully reducing stress.
- Keep a tight focus on electronic / experimental artists – they generally have fewer performance spaces than more traditional artists.
- Within that though, foreground diversity amongst the artists – actively seek out a diverse array of artists – people I’d be interested and excited to see perform an online gig.
- Make a point of approaching and involving artists who were in the same position I was in before Mel approached me – “I’ve been kinda wanting to, but didn’t know where to start”. Paradoxically, this has meant I’m not approaching some of my favourite fedi artists. I figure they’re doing brilliant stuff already, off their own bat. Maybe that will change in the future, but for now, I’m keeping my focus tight.
- Keep having fun with it.
So far
The gigs so far have been fantastic and inspiring from an artistic point of view, and I’ve been equally delighted to see new connections being made between artists and performers and amongst the audiences. There’s been a lot of fun and laughter in the live chat at the gigs. I’ve also been really pleased that I seem to be hitting the spot in identifying artists who have a desire to do something but needed an additional friendly poke to actually do it.
Working with Mel has been wonderful. It feels like we’ve developed a good process for giving and getting the right information at the right time and we’re continuing to refine this with each gig.
Excitingly, NHAM is also running a series of online gigs and we’re working together to share resources, ideas and support. The idea is to build distinct but complementary identities for the gigs that contribute to the flourishing ecosystem for artists on the Fediverse.
The future
I have a fair idea of who is likely to be doing each gig through to the autumn now. The hope is to keep striking a balance between eclecticism and staying within the musical parameters and vision outlined. Hopefully, over time, this will encourage a regular audience who are excited to watch, join the chat and expect the unexpected.
