COVID Closed Venues, But This New Hope Musician Kept Playing

NEW HOPE, PA — When the stay-at-home orders went into place last March, local musicians found themselves in a bind. How would they continue to offer live music to their fans if every venue was shut down?

Well, one local musician came up with a creative solution, which now has thousands of fans.

Tim Nayfield, a regular in the New Hope live music scene and a member of the bands MIXXTAPE and SAGE, last year launched a Facebook group where he streams live weekly performances.

The group, called "Live Music and Entertainment During This Hard Time" hit 1,000 members in 29 hours last March, he tells Patch.

That first night, he picked up his guitar and started to live stream. More than 900 people watched.

"I soon realized people wanted and needed to get together, and I wanted to provide a place that was free of the stress, drama and politics of the quarantine," Nayfield said.

The live music group eventually grew to more than 4,300 members, prompting Nayfield to start playing live every Wednesday at 9 pm. He has set up a studio stage area in his basement, complete with lights and sound proofing.

He even has a stage name: "My friend called it QuaranTIM and the name stuck," he said.

This Wednesday, March 17, he'll play and stream his 60th concert. You can watch it live here.

To make each performance fun and different, Nayfield made up some rules that he follows weekly. Those rules cover everything from attire to the performance set list.

For one, he wears a new tie each week. He also plays a completely different set of songs each week, never repeating one from the last performance. Plus, he learns and plays at least one new song for each performance.

Nayfield shared a few fun facts about his endeavor:

• I've played 723 total songs: 72 different original songs written by me, 99 cover songs (including 82 covers I've never played before).
• I've played guitar, harmonica, electric guitar, banjo, mandolin and piano.
• My wife learned bass guitar and joined me on some performances.
• I've played several benefit performances including shows to support Sprouting Connections (Autism), an Online Concert For Amy, the BellaStrong Music Festival and a Concert for Crystal.
• I've recorded half of the shows to make a compilation QuaranTim album.