Second Life Rainforest Concert

Second Life

History was made in Hastings on 9th November when an extraordinary group of young people came together for the first time to produce and star in an online concert in support of The Princes Rainforest’s Project (PRP) in the weird and wonderful virtual world of Second Life.

The concert aimed to raise awareness of the plight of the world's rainforests using the online platform, Second Life, which is a free 3D virtual world where users can socialize, connect and create using voices, text chat and move their characters around the resident-created landscapes.

Emmett & Ash
"To be given this ground breaking opportunity at this time in our lives will have an everlasting impact on our future.”

Bringing together music, rainforests and young people on Second Life was quite a challenge for Luc Floreani, the Australian singer-songwriter, who conceived the concert. “To say that these young people have not had the easiest of starts in life is an extreme understatement but their courage and commitment shone through on the day and they produced some heart-rending performances," he said.

For pictures please visit http://www.fengshuichat.com/prp_sl_concert/picture_gallery.htm

Hope - musician
“This was an epic day for me personally. For me to go back to college and tell my tutors, let alone other students, what I had been doing helping to set up the sounds for Second Life, how could I put that into words? I still can't belive it myself.”

The stage was set in virtual Dublin on a stage that floated high above the 3D Dublin streets. The concert landscape was donated by a Second-Lifer based in the US, who had decked it out with wild, green rainforest fronds, frothing rivers, a beautiful waterfall and an island for the main performer to stand on. One metre tall frogs, representing the PRP's frog ambassador, hopped about. Performers joined the 12-hour-long music-festival from as far as Brazil and the US.

The collaborating partners included Luc Floreani; the reliable, stoic and jolly pilot-cum-Second-Life guru John Mahon; Respond Academy directors JC and her husband Paulo, who were key to unlocking the joy of the day; and most importantly the young people who took part.

Luc Floreani and the Second Life performers