For many of us, the days spent social distancing are well into the double digits. And if you’ve spent much of your time working from home, you might have noticed your world has gone a little more quiet.
No more commute playlists while in traffic. No more new coffee shop jams over the weekend. No more free concerts at your favorite local bar. The music is still there … we’re just trying to find it.
Luckily, that’s where Leesburg’s King Street Coffee comes in. The Loudoun County hot spot (located in the hard-to-miss blue house) is still selling—and now shipping—Lone Oak Coffee Company beans for at-home residents, and serving its signature drinks through a new walk-up window. But it’s also hosting weekly Quarantined Coffee Concerts on its Facebook and Instagram pages, featuring local musicians and artists through May.
“We have a wonderful community that has been supporting our shop through good times and bad, and quite a few of them are local performers who are hurting in these times because of canceled gigs,” says Vanessa Borg, a barista at King Street Coffee (and the director of the virtual jam sessions). “We wanted to find some way to show our support for them in return.”
The concerts were originally taking place in the now empty seating area of the small coffee shop, since it could welcome a small set up of amps and instruments, says Borg, but since the stay-at-home order was issued in Virginia, the musicians are now encouraged to perform from their homes.
Currently, there are five scheduled concerts to enjoy. On Friday, April 10, Charlie Post will take the virtual stage from his home to jam out with some punk-and-acoustic mashup tunes. Jeff and Ben Knighton will perform on Friday, April 17, a dad-and-son duo ready to serve up some rock-and-folk jams. Side note: Ben is a King Street Coffee barista, and Jeff is a member of the local group Dr. Carp.
On Friday, April 24, tune in to hear Emily Guagliardi, who’s typically a familiar face for live music at local wineries. Singer-songwriter Maggie Miles will follow up with a live show on Friday, May 1 in advance of her upcoming first album release, and multi-instrumentalist (and long-time King Street Coffee patron) Kevin Knight will round out the calendar so far on Friday, May 8.
“We want to provide a virtual venue to bring local talent into area homes and find some sort of happy way to celebrate together within this new normal we’re all figuring out,” says Borg.
Tune in to King Street Coffee on Facebook and Instagram for the shows, and be sure to leave the musician a virtual tip too (there will be directions in the event’s description). And if you insist on getting out of the house for a quick essential trip, grab your local cup of coffee from King Street, and a pint of gelato too. // King Street Coffee: 110 S. King St., Leesburg
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