As the world awaits the day when massive concerts can return once more, David Guetta, called the “grandfather” of the EDM and the world’s top ranked DJ is a man without a festival to call home.
To cope, the French musician has been using his time productively, bringing his fans together for his United at Home series, a livestream of tailor-made sets that have each been in coordination with a specific drive to donate to a worthy cause.
The first, from a poolside in Miami, raised money for COVID-19 relief, and each since, such as his June livestream from New York City’s Rock Observation Deck at Rockefeller Center to Paris’ Louvre Glass Pyramid on New Year’s Eve, has added more causes to the mix, all through his website www.davidguetta.com/donate.
His latest, done in conjunction with Dubai Cares and UNICEF, was his most impressive yet, broadcasting through a multitude of drones atop the helipad of Dubai’s iconic Burj Khalifa, complete with a full light show.
“I’m so happy to do this show in Dubai UAE, a country where hundreds of nationalities are living in harmony. This is what my music was always about—togetherness, and living like one in harmony,” Guetta said during the livestream.
After sharing his sentiments on Dubai, he waved the UAE flag, while the screen below him showed what looked like the surface of Mars, a potential reference to the UAE’s Hope Probe and its imminent arrival to Mars on Tuesday, February 9.
Through each song, the floor of the helipad itself, fit with a video screen, transformed from anything to a spinning vinyl record to a journey through the stars.
Guetta has been living in Dubai for six weeks, much longer than he usually stays anywhere, professing to Saeed Saeed at The National that he “loves it here.”
The 17- song set came complete with new mixes of some of his biggest hits, including Titanium featuring Sia, Love is Gone featuring Chris Willis, and Memories featuring rapper Kid Cudi, as well as new productions from his alias Jack Back and collaborations with Danish DJ MORTEN.
Since it launched, the stream has racked up nearly 700,000 views on YouTube and 1.5 million on facebook
Guetta, ever mindful of the Pandemic situation, also let out a plea that people stay safe, enjoy themselves through social distancing instead of a public dancefloor, and donate what they can to those that need it most in what is for many desperate times, making his Dubai Cares collaboration all the more meaningful.
The Dubai Cares Campaign in particular is focused on their initiative Education Uninterrupted, which is aimed at supporting education and distance learning for children, students and teachers who are most affected by the global pandemic.
Guetta has not revealed the next location of his livestream series, but he revealed to The National that he told his children should “enjoy his company now” because he will be gone for at least six months playing shows once the pandemic is over.
Shout out to his family.
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