Hot off the success of last Saturday’s ‘Nether Meant’ (which raised over $8,000 for Good360’s COVID-19 relief efforts), virtual event masterminds Open Pit have made good on their promise that “more [was] to come soon”. ‘Square Garden’ – which will take place at 11pm BST on 24th April – will be their second Minecraft-based festival in under a fortnight, this time in support of the charity Feeding America. 

The event is fittingly being co-hosted by post-genre (hell, maybe even post-music???) duo 100 gecs, who legend has it played their very first ‘live’ gig at the Minecraft festival ‘Coalchella’ back in September 2018. The group are also headlining alongside Charli XCX, Cashmere Cat & Benny Blanco. The rammed setlist dwarfs ‘Nether Meant’ in both scale and scope, boasting electropop outfit Kero Kero Bonito, as well as PC Music staples A.G. Cook, GFOTY, Danny L Harle, and umru. ‘Square Garden’ looks to cement Open Pit as the kings of this year’s inevitable online festival circuit. I, for one, welcome our new cyberspace overlords.

For those who don’t own a copy of Minecraft, you can stream the event via 100 gec’s YouTube channel and website. 

In an event that brought very literal credence to the idea we’re living in a simulation, virtual space gurus Open Pit teamed up with Anamanaguchi to deliver ‘Nether Meant’, a six hour online concert in aid of Good360’s COVID-19 relief efforts. Taking place entirely in Minecraft’s subterranean ‘nether’ realm, the concert surpassed its fundraising goal raising a total of over $8,000. As a result, Open Pit have promised a follow-up event in the near future. The concert’s name is also a play on “Never Meant“, the cult emo anthem by headlining act American Football.

Hundreds of digital avatars swarmed beneath the dancefloor, hit the bar, and wandered around the cloakroom and toilets replicated from the real-life Brooklyn nightclub Elsewhere.

#NetherMeant is this Saturday!

Join us at the @americfootball house on stage at https://t.co/NtZ5emWDCj,
a 1:1 scale virtual recreation of @elsewherespace.

Admission is free but donations will benefit the @Good360 Covid-19 Relief Fund.

Who are you most excited for? pic.twitter.com/AK8nGkYeVF

— Open Pit (@OpenPitPresents) April 6, 2020

Whilst the lineup was predominantly American, without the constraints of geographical convenience, the multinational roster included artists from France, Argentina, and Finland. UK Bass supergroup Gloo also provided a heady back-to-back set, with the British trio Kai Whiston, Iglooghost, and Babii melding together deranged art pop with deconstructed club.

The night culminated with cuboid figurines of the band American Football taking to the stage in a performance that blended studio recordings, live instrumentation and in keeping with the pixelated surroundings, bizarre 8-bit renditions of the songs “Never Meant” and the fittingly-titled “Stay Home“.

Watch the Twitch stream of the event below:

Watch #NetherMeant: April 11th, 5:30pm EST from OpenPit on www.twitch.tv