Best Virtual Events of Spring 2021

It’s that time again! Let’s round up our favorite virtual events from the 2021 spring semester. It was impossible to keep everyone in the loop on all the events we were helping people produce. So here is our 6-month recap of what we’ve been busy working on:

Best Virtual Q&As:

Amy Poehler & Tina Fey with the amazing ACBU team was hands down the highlight of the semester, and working with them was also a highlight of my career. They were just as wonderful as you’d hope – hilarious, interactive, and they completely understood the goals of what we were trying to achieve. The event included a well-placed skeleton prop, stories about 1 degree of separation from Kevin Bacon, and a silly ring light reflection. Although the pandemic has forever changed the way we do our job, one perk has been the opportunity to work with A-list celebrities who cannot take several days off on a normal basis, but can easily take an hour or two for a virtual event.

Keke Palmer with Suffolk University and University of Tennessee – Chattanooga. Watching students tell her she was their representation growing up, and seeing what that meant to her was just incredible. She is a bright light.

Yusef Salaam speaking event with the University of Wyoming, because it was one of the most impactful experiences to hear his story. He looks straight into the camera so you feel every word in your soul.

Dan Levy with Cal Poly SLO ASI Events was another definite highlight. Dan is just who you hope he would be. Hearing him speak about how important his work has been to portray normal queer relationships and a small town that accepts others for whoever they might be really inspired and shifted my way of viewing his hilarious and amazing work.

Jake Johnson with CSU San Marcos, Washington State, and Cal Poly SLO – yes, we worked with Jake Johnson on three events because he was so real, authentic, and made us all feel like we were talking to our friendly next door neighbor. Hearing stories about meeting Prince, the relationships between him and New Girl castmates, going to a table read smelling like a skunk, working in animated films, and more, was so fun!

Honorable mentions include Q&As with: Gottmik, Jonathan Van Ness, Tiffany Haddish, Josh Peck, Max Greenfield, Steve-O, Nicole Byer, Ivy McGregor, Cody Ko & Noel Miller, Antoni Porowski, Amanda Seales, Pattie Gonia, and Brandon Flynn.

Best Virtual Concerts:

Lucky Daye – We helped with two Lucky Daye virtual concerts this semester and they were well-produced with a full band and great production value sets. The team fulfilled everything we asked, Lucky wore a campus hoodie, and ultimately was just a fantastic and talented musician! We can’t wait to see the in-person show!

Kehlani – All-female full band, excellently produced set in a venue space personalized for Colorado State University, with live Q&A and meet & greet for students, all with great atmosphere and presence.

Beach Bunny w/ Claud as support for University of Iowa – From Audio Tree live in Chicago, great production, multiple camera angles, excellent interaction and more – all personalized for the campus, with a great opening set by Claud, shout outs from each band to the other – it was one of the most “in-person” feeling virtual shows we’ve helped with.

Gunna – Personalized, great production, full set with shout outs and more, with a personalized meet & greet where he got to meet every person on the call. They were easy to work with and everything was done very professionally.

Phoebe Bridgers – Intimate, live, interactive, deep performance that had the chat going wild about mental health, feelings, beliefs, and more. It was just the medicine everyone needed that day as we come out of a pandemic full of burnout and fatigue.

Honorable mentions include: Jesse McCartney (below), Rico Nasty, Giveon, Chika, Hunter Hayes, UMI, Hippie Sabotage, Paloma Mami, Chris Lane, 99 Neighbors, Lennon Stella, Ingrid Andress, B.o.B, Aly & AJ, Taylor Bennett, Tai Verdes, Noah Kahan, Beabadoobee, Josie Dunne, Dorian Electra, and Bryce Vine.

Best Virtual Activities:

The Office Trivia hosted by Brian Baumgartner – We’ve done quite a few of these, and Brian (who plays Kevin in the hit show) is an excellent host. He tells stories about filming the show, talks about his cast mates, shows items he “borrowed” from the set, and provides fun and enthusiasm for the players.

Corbin Bleu hosted a campus Battle of the Bands, as well as a trivia night. Corbin is just a joy to work with. He’s positive, enthusiastic, works well with a script or without, and the students at these events just absolutely loved the nostalgic joy from interacting with him.

Bretman Rock makeup tutorial and Q&A – Bretman Rock was so popular for an event we did that they “broke zoom.” The chat was so wild with excitement and interaction that the videos couldn’t keep up and we had to shut down the chat to be able to continue the event. That is a WIN for sure, since that’s how excited and into the event the participants were.

Trevor Wallace art project and bingo nights – Because Trevor humored us in whatever odd thing we asked him to do, we have to give him credit! From bingo to assembling an air terrarium, Trevor made his virtual events interactive and fun, and was a popular choice amongst college students.

Will Sliney & Rachelle Rosenberg co-hosted Virtual Comic Class – Yes, Will Sliney’s comic drawing classes have become a regular for How To Concerts, but Rachelle is a comic colorist, and together they have hosted a few combined virtual events that are not only informative and interactive, but at the end they allow participants to choose a character for Will to draw right in front of them and Rachelle to color. All of this happens for the viewers to see and ask questions about, and at the end you have your own custom drawn piece.

Jyll Everman cooking classes – in May, Jyll celebrated her 100th class, and she’s not done yet!! Get excited for a few new menus for Fall virtual classes! This is one event that will continue long after the pandemic.

Honorable mentions include: Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood host virtual Whose Line is It Anyway, Danny Franzese hosts various trivia and bingo events, Fortune Feimster hosted trivia, KayCee Stroh hosted more High School Musical and Disney trivia, Ashley & Jared Haibon as well as John Paul Jones all hosted Bachelor Nation trivia events, Oscar Nunez hosted The Office trivia, Scott Rogowsky is a trivia host favorite again, Chris Olsen & Ian Paget did a yoga with Q&A event, Kayley Quick hosted excellent virtual paint nights, and we of course have to mention all the amazing drag queen bingo hosts we’ve worked with – Latrice Royale, Honey Davenport, Alexis Michelle, Mrs. Kasha Davis, Cynthia Lee Fontaine, Gottmik, Roxxxy Andrews, Shea Coulee and of course Bob the Drag Queen.