When Are Concerts Going to Start Again

This was supposed to be the twelvemonth live music made its comeback afterward grinding to a halt in the face of the pandemic.

So far, 2021 is not looking great either.

With COVID-nineteen vaccinations slowly rolling out, it's projected most Americans will not exist able to become immunized until at least the summer. That means large gatherings volition remain discouraged.

Concerts and festivals, which traditionally ready in the bound and run through the fall around the country, are already making adjustments. The annual South past Southwest music, film and tech conference is going virtual this yr after being completely canceled in 2020. The Weeknd's Subsequently Hours Earth Tour will at present kick off in January 2022 afterwards the original 2020 kickoff date was postponed for 2021. Coachella and Stagecoach, two massive festivals in California, have been canceled for the 2d year in a row. Summerfest in Wisconsin and Bonnaroo in Tennessee, two of the largest summertime music festivals, have been postponed to September.

Dave Brooks, Billboard's senior contributor of touring and live entertainment, is optimistic live music will gradually return.

"I definitely retrieve we will start seeing i-off loonshit concerts in a affair of months and the return of festivals in the fall," he told United states of america TODAY.

Brooks points to New York, where Gov. Andrew Cuomo has given permission for arenas to reopen at x% capacity, as a sign things are slowly getting dorsum to normal. He anticipates many festivals that traditionally happen in the autumn, such as Exterior Lands in San Francisco, will become on, with some modifications.

More:NY to allow sports arenas, large venues to open with COVID testing rules. What to know

"Besides existence smaller with a lower capacity, there volition undoubtedly be mask requirements and restrictions on some of the things we are used to – less food, more than restrictions on drinking and more efforts to keep people from congregating too closely. Don't expect any meet-and-greets with artists or whatever stage dives by the pb singer. Promoters will exist operating in this centre area where most people are vaccinated only concerns about viral spread and safe and cleanliness are still paramount."

United states of america TODAY checked in promoters, performers and venues across the state to get their accept on the return of live music:

The promoter

Karly Tuckness, one of the founders of Four Leaf Productions, says large gatherings volition return, only not in a fashion we saw in the by.

"I don't think we'll be standing 6 feet apart or wearing masks forever," she said. "But some could be permanent shifts, like we saw in the travel industry, mail-9/eleven. Security at large events is always evolving and I'm sure at that place will be some new safety protocols that come out of this experience."

Upshot organizers and local health authorities are ultimately the ones who ready entry requirements. Hand-washing and sanitizer stations, mask requirements and temperature checks at gates are amongst the initial changes concertgoers could see.

Fact check: Ticketmaster exploring tech to provide fans' COVID condition before events

Tuckness anticipates omnipresence will be down in the curt term – and non merely considering of restrictions on crowd sizes. Some people are legitimately scared to venture out.

"But I don't come across that for the long term," she said. "I recall we're drastic to go back out at that place, to have shared experiences that motion us."

The venues

Information technology will probable be smaller venues that get dorsum to normal before larger arenas, promoters say, because of logistics and cost. It takes more lead time and heftier price tags to sell out a 20,000-seat venue versus a 500-person-capacity guild. That means information technology could exist 2022 before A-listing artists are back on big-scale stages.

"No creative person is going to denote their shows until they are sure they tin play out," said Stephen Chilton with the Insubordinate Lounge in Phoenix. "For small venues, you can promote local and regional artists with only a few weeks' find and not the long pb times major concerts need."

More:'The precipice of a mass collapse': Independent music venues fright they'll exist forced to close forever

While many performers have turned to livestreaming, drive-in shows and alternative means to stay connected with fans during the pandemic, Chilton says nil tin can compare to an in-person performance.

"Live concerts are where most artists not just make their living but connect about with their fans. As much equally streaming and social media assist them stay active in the meantime, they also remind the states how far short they fall from real, in-person interactions and experiences," he said.

But disarming everyone to venture out again could be a challenge, according to Adam Hartke with The Cotillion and WAVE in Wichita, Kansas.

"We most definitely volition be facing a steep colina with consumer confidence, but I think some folks are ready for shows to come dorsum and will jump at the chance," he said. "As nosotros have seen with other areas of this pandemic, public sentiment is all over the board. I do think one time we accept a large portion of the population vaccinated, people will feel more comfortable attending concerts again."

The performers

Charlie Faye, a musician based in Austin, Texas, says she's made "exactly zero dollars" this past twelvemonth. Similar many performers, her group, Charlie Faye and the Fayettes, hasn't been able to tour.

She says wide touring in 2021 is out of the question. Some local shows in the Austin area might be an option, depending upon how the year progresses.

"There's yet so much we don't know nearly how the virus works and how this is going to play out," she said. "I would never want to put my family, my band, or my audition at adventure unnecessarily."

More:The Weeknd shifts After Hours Tour to 2022

She anticipates about shows initially volition be outdoors, to allow for more distancing and plenty of fresh air.

"I have no idea how long it volition take for things to get back to what used to be normal," she said. "At first, anyone with a salubrious abundance of caution will be rightfully anxious well-nigh gathering in a big group. I know I will be. It's going to take us all a while to walk ourselves back from this psychologically, even once things seem to be safer once more."

In New Orleans, it's also been a year since Robert Mercurio, a member of group Galactic, has performed before an audition. He estimates they had to cancel almost 90 shows.

"Information technology has been one of the strangest years of my 25-yr music career," he said. "Ane of the worst parts has been living in total doubt equally to when y'all will exist able to go back to doing what you practise and what it volition ever be like again. On the positive side, it has been nice to exist home for a full yr. I oasis't done that in 25 years."

Follow Gary Dinges on Twitter @gdinges

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Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2021/02/26/coronavirus-when-concerts-and-music-festivals-return/4556037001/

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