After the pandemic hit D.C. this spring, musician and sound engineer Aaron Miller found himself with a slew of canceled shows and lots of spare gear. After a frequent collaborator, Miles Ryan, owner of 7DrumCity, received an inquiry about doing a mobile concert, Miller helped him fashion a rolling cart outfitted with speakers and equipment for musicians on the go.

“The response we got was just extraordinary,” says Miller. “People were dancing along in the streets and really loved the show.” He spent the summer working on a more permanent version, looping in singer Anya Ross, his one-time bandmate.

This week, Miller and Ross will launch Side Street Sounds, a self-described “COVID-conscious mobile concert service” that will kick off with shows on Friday and Sunday. The cart will offer brands and companies a means to advertise via sponsored pop-up shows, while providing paid gigs for D.C. musicians.

The model is largely the same as the show in May, though they have replaced the earlier cart, which Miller calls a “contraption,” with a custom one made in collaboration with The Woodworkers Club in Rockville.

A member of the crew will push the cart while the musicians play. Miller uses a battery-powered generator and wireless microphones so the musicians can be socially distanced while walking down the street.

During the two-hour shows, players will be in constant motion in an effort to avoid drawing a crowd, in accordance with health and safety guidelines. Players will earn $200 per show and must have regularly earned income from live music prior to the pandemic. The sound engineer will also earn $200. Crew members, including the person pushing the cart, will each earn $100. Listeners can tip via a “virtual tip jar” on the Side Street Sounds website, which is accessible via a QR code and will be split evenly.

Ross says the sponsored shows will be “as customizable as possible” for brands, whether they want their logo or slogan displayed on the cart or on t-shirts worn by the performers, have the crew hand out materials, or customize the playlist. “All of it’s on the table,” she says. The pair declined to say how much a a typical show would cost.

This week’s shows are self-funded, and will take place between K Street NE in Lincoln Park on Friday evening and between Rose Park and the Georgetown Waterfront on Sunday, with a total of five songs the bands will rotate through. They will share the exact times and routes day-of on social media.

Side Street Sounds also launched a Kickstarter campaign with a $3,000 goal to cover startup costs, including purchasing protective gear for performers and investing in the PA system to ensure its durability. The campaign met its goal within 24 hours of launching. The venture plans to donate 10% of its total revenue to a local charity, though they have not yet selected one.

Music venues will be among the last businesses in D.C. to reopen. Both local and national efforts to secure relief funding are underway, including the Save Our Stages Act, which would provide federal financial assistance to independent venue operators, promoters, producers, and talent representatives impacted by the pandemic. The legislation has gained bipartisan support in Congress since it was introduced in July.

A survey conducted earlier this year by the National Independent Venue Association, an advocacy group whose members include 9:30 Club, U Street Music Hall, and others, found that 90% of venue owners, promoters, and bookers said they would have to permanently close in the next few months if they did not receive targeted funding from the government.

The impact is already evident locally, as a number of local venues have closed their doors for good, including longtime nightspots Eighteenth Street Lounge and Twins Jazz.

After this weekend, Miller and Ross plan to stage as many shows as demand dictates, with a goal of one to two shows per month all over the city. They intend to continue staging them after the city reopens.

Ross hopes that the concert service can have even a small impact on the local music community. She notes that many musicians have turned to virtual shows in the absence of performances at venues, but “there’s no replacing a live audience,” she says.

“Of course, we’d love to have as big an impact as possible,” she adds. “But even just getting a few people a show a month, that would do it for me.”