CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When the lockdown hit last March many local musicians lost all of their gigs and income. One local artist decided to bring concerts to his home and stream them online.

What started as a fun way to make tips to support his family ended up making Josh Daniel, a local musician, one of the top streaming artists in 2020.

“I decided on that first day, I said, 'hey I’m going to live everyday during the shutdown', and here we are 10 months later and I’ve gone live every single day,” Daniel says.

He did this for more than 300 days, going live from his home.

As the tips came in and the months grew chilly, Daniel decided to build a studio in the back yard.

“Every night I set up here. I have my little camera and things, light, soundboard, pedal board. Everything like that. And I go live from here, to the world,” Daniel says. 

Daniel has been able to donate $50,000 to charity through the tips he's received during the streaming concerts.

“I’m so grateful to the folks out there who have supported me and continued to support me,” Daniel says. 

This started not only for music, but as a way to keep up with demanding bills.

The virtual gig was a life saver when his 2-year-old son was in the hospital for a week.

“He was born with a rare genetic syndrome called Apert syndrome, and it effects your bones, they fuse. So he’s had to have to surgeries to help him with that,” Daniel explains.

Daniel strummed his way to raising $24,000 to help other families in need. Paying for surgeries for children in similar situations.

“To be able to give to these organizations with these specific things that are going on with my family and help children all of the world… they educate on acceptance and being kind,” Daniel says.

So Daniel continues to do what he knows best.

It starts with a couple chords, a few powerful vocals, and riffing well into the night. Something that started so small, has now reached over 3 millions people.

Daniel calls it the silver lining of 2020.

He streams a 2-hour concert everyday at 6 p.m. on his Facebook page.

The money he’s raised has now helped stock shelves at food pantries and helped pay for surgeries at Levine Children’s Hospital.