Just six short months ago, on March 6, 2020, I was attending a Devin Townsend show here in Atlanta with my great friend/drummer Luis. It was a Friday night, and the show was sold out. There were about 1,000 people there. We were hugging friends, both old and new, and even tasting each other’s beers. It was a fantastic time, but things were about to change drastically.
A few days later, the Coronavirus (aka. Covid-19) hit the US with all of the impact of a meteor. Little by little, restaurants were closing down, concerts and tours were being rescheduled, and then canceled. Bands that were already on tour found themselves canceling halfway (or less) into their tour and heading back home. I didn’t know what to make of any of this. It all seemed like a weird, fucked up episode of the Twilight Zone. In my mind, I figured it would be just like any flu outbreak and that sooner than later, it would be eradicated.
Nearly six months later, here we are, and things have progressed for the worst. As of this piece, there have been 4.75 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 157,000 deaths in the US alone. The numbers are staggering. Governors across the US started saying that it was ok for cities to open as long as the people carried out Covid-19 guidelines put into place. The problem here is that as bars and restaurants began opening, they became packed with people not wearing masks and not practicing social distancing. The cases of Covid-19 started to increase again, and business started closing down again.
While other operations were opening up for business as usual (with some only doing curbside pickup), concert venues closed and, at this point, remained closed. This was a direct hit to not just the venues themselves but to promoters, booking agents, and the bands who rely on touring to make a living. With the venues now shut down for nearly six months, they are finding themselves suffering from a detrimental loss of income. While these venues are shut down for the well being of their patrons, the rent still needs to be paid.
National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) has turned to the fans to reach out to Congress. According to the NIVA website they are asking Congress to “please support and co-sponsor S. 4258/H.R. 7806, the Save Our Stages Act, introduced by Senators Cornyn and Klobuchar, and S. 3814/H.R. 7481, the RESTART Act, introduced by Senators Young and Bennet in the Senate and Representatives Golden and Kelly in the House, both of which would ensure the survival of live performance venues across the nation.”
As a musician, I genuinely do feel horrible for these venues. In a time where working people are fighting to stay well and healthy in their respective workplaces due to the cut of unemployment payouts, I feel that it will be hard to justify giving venues money to survive and stay existent while having to keep their doors closed to the public. With that being said, I genuinely do hope that these venues can survive, and I am staying optimistic, but the longer this goes on for, the less hope I have for this to happen.
There are so many small/up and coming bands that may not make it through this pandemic. Some of them made a modest (or less) living. Some also relied on touring as their income or as their supplemental income. Even some mid-tier bands have found themselves trying everything they can do to stay afloat by doing everything from pay-per-view type of online streaming performances to offering online music lessons. Some artists are even doing Cameos, which is where, for a fee, one can do a custom greeting video to send to a friend or family member.
I have been talking to friends who are musicians on various levels to try and process my prediction of the future of live music. I feel that the landscape of live music is going to change forever. Gone will be all of the small/mid-size venues. Any of those venues that are primarily bars will continue to be bars/restaurants with music rooms becoming dusty, cobweb filled storage rooms filled with the ghosts of bands that once graced the stages of these once lively rooms.
Instead of playing those dank, musty, and character-filled venues that bands once called home, I envision things going back to a much simpler time of live performances. Back in the ‘60s and the ‘70s (hell, even the ‘80s) bands would put on shows wherever they could. Since performing shows indoors very well may be something that won’t happen again for a good while, I see bands setting up in fields, bars, and even setting up “house tours” where bands will perform their sets with other bands on people’s decks, in their backyards creating makeshift amphitheaters. Hell, I can see bands even performing in garages while friends/fans commune around the drive-way and adjoining yards.
While the landscape of live music may forever be changed, it doesn’t mean that it has to roll over and die. Live music, just like life itself, will always find a way. Live music may play an even more critical role than ever in the future. Live music will always be a beacon of hope, a celebration of friends, a celebration of life, and a celebration of music. For as long as there are backyard, instruments, electricity, and the passion for bringing music to the people, live music will never die. It may look different, but the results will forever be the same if not greater than ever.
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