90% of Independent Music Venues Could Close

This is such a heartbreaking situation.

I (along with the comedy-drawing-wrestling-show I run, Super Art Fight) did a fundraising stream a few weeks back for our home venue, Baltimore's Ottobar.

We generated some dough for them, but I know that it's just enough to help them keep going.

Something major needs to be done, otherwise, a much bigger segment -- that of live music/entertainment -- will be next.

 

Fuck.

 

If only they were giant corporations their funding would be available by the end of the week.

 

Fuuuuuuuuck

 

It's an extinction-level event. Don't know what to say other than that I'm heartbroken.

 

rip smaller live music for ppl who might not have a venue to go to anymore and can't travel

 

Yeah. RIP live music in anything but large cities. RIP small-to-medium cap rooms regardless of location most likely. RIP to the vast majority of up and coming bands or the “middle class” that aren’t headlining or opening for bigger acts. Access to music is more available than at any point in history, and yet what options are going to be left for the people who actually create that art?

 

so true and I just hope mine near me stay open after this but who knows

 

this is depressing as hell

 

This is the greatest casualty of anything driven specifically by COVID for me. I could go without going into a restaurant ever again if I could get takeout. I could handle never going into a store and browsing again.

I could not and do not want to live in a world where the only place to see live music, if at all, is a giant stadium. I live in the Twin Cities and we are blessed with a huge variety of theaters, along with the president of NIVA who operates the company that owns most of them here (First Avenue). It’s a beacon in the city and the venues are some of the best in the nation.

I can’t stop crying.

 

The venues will return, but likely not under the same owners/names. There will always be a demand to see smaller bands in smaller venues. Just sucks that the current owners have to suffer.

 

Hopefully some of these multi-purpose rooms (club nights, bars, not just a concert venue) can hang around. Venues in our area pop up and come down in 5 years as is.

 

really bad

 

Hopefully Joe Squared is doing okay since they sell gourmet brick oven Pizza!!! That place is one of my favorites. They always make sure the artists get paid and there's always a built in crowd.

 

In Jacksonville, my hometown... Jack Rabbits and the promoting company Jax Live have done a hell of a job keeping artists and the community connected during COVID, I'm very proud of them right now. P sure they raised over $25k in a couple weeks to stay open and then donated some of the extra to the bail fund for Jax protestors.

It's gonna take bringing everybody together in solidarity to get through this, and I think only the venue owners who are truly good, unselfish people & trusted by the community are gonna survive because of that.

 

In Buffalo, I’ve heard Town Ballroom may not be reopening. That’s really sad and a huge loss because it’s our only mid-sized club venue in the region. They book 100-150 shows per year, it’ll be so depressing if they can’t reopen.

 

Awful.

 

Barracuda in Austin closed today and it's fucked up

 

I always liked playing in someone's garage or playing on an outdoor stage in someone's yard in the country while we light off fireworks and play frisbee. One time (when I lived in Baltimore) I got to play on the ground floor of a 3 story townhouse and people were all over the stairs and spiral balcony watching, then we partied on the roof. I play Wake Up Fest in Valdosta GA & camp out there with friends from north Florida every year, and that's got a wakeboarding contest & skateboarding contest as well. I've hosted Lady Lamb in my living room & I've seen David Bazan and Kevin Devine do similar living room tours as well.

The spaces we've become attached to, a lot of them will die out, but live music will probably come back strong once this lets up. We will find creative ways to do it. Social media makes it easier to know when it's happening.

 

I’d pay the rent for the Hoosier Dome if I have to. I think a lot of small venues could crowdfund the money to cover rent and utilities. I mean $40,000 could keep some of these little places in business for a while. Just really sucks for the current owners though, no one could’ve ever imagined such an industry-wide fallout.

 

Exactly this. Being in this "scene" for almost 20 years at this point, what I've learned is that there will always be live music and venues. Locally, when the Asbury Lanes closed/renovated/became a bougie indie venue, the Asbury Brewery started hosting shows. The House of Independents opened. Wonderbar started pulling more punk gigs and promoters started booking at Crossroads in Garwood along with the Brighton Bar.

When small venues close, basement shows fill their place. It's devastating to see so many people who have supported the scene struggle, but there will always be shows at small venues. I have hope.

 

I am sure there will always be smaller venues. And I know it’s crazy to lick the boots of any ownership but sincerely, the Twin Cities are beyond blessed to have venues from 150-3500 CAP that are all owned by the same group and understand how a good live show should be. Reasonable ticket and drink prices. Diverse bands. Even the people who work there are kind. It just made for a better concert experience whether I was going to see White Reaper in front of 120 people or Lizzo in front of the 3500+. Same vibe. That’s what I think I would miss the most if they all became the Pepsi/LiveNation Hole-In-The-Wall stage B2 or whatever.

 

For this reason I REALLY hope Masquerade in Atlanta doesn't close :(

 

This does suck! A bunch of rich people will just swoop in and buy up these places and reopen them though.