What will the return to live music look like in Asheville? Jason Sanford and Sally Kestin of AVL Watchdog explored that question in their recent article “A Post-pandemic Asheville Faces a Daunting Return.” Sanford and Kestin paint a sobering picture of Asheville’s return. After conducting interviews with business owners and officials around Asheville, the growing consensus is that the recovery will last at least a year. Russell Keith, the owner of the Grey Eagle, said watching the COVID crises hit Asheville “breaks my heart every day.” Keith has turned to “selling merchandise and gift certificates” and eventually hopes for a “post-coronavirus reopening with more outdoor patio shows and forehead thermometers to test people at the door.”
In other cities in the United States, similar conversations are taking place. According to LA Times article, the Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti suggested that “large gatherings such as concerts and sporting events may not be approved in the city for at least one year.” In addition, the author of article cited studies suggest that “social distancing measures affecting gatherings like concerts may need to deployed into 2022. A vaccine for the novel coronavirus looks to be at least 12 to 18 months away.”
In Colorado, while “Governor Jared Polis has signaled that he will lift Colorado’s stay-at-home order after it expires on April 26, big concerts and stadium events are the lowest priority for reopening.” At a conference on April 20, the Governor suggested that for music venues to re-open “there would have to be a vaccine or a cure for coronavirus, or herd immunity. And for the foreseeable future, bars and clubs, as well as smaller venues, will remain dark, like the big halls and arenas.”
Frances Mehlenbacher
April 24, 2020 — 6:55 pm
Thinking about how people will return to some sense of normalcy is definitely very daunting. After reading your post, it is interesting to think about what the strange transition will look like as people go back to attending concerts and performing. It’s been very sad to see that many of the local small music venues might not even be around after this pandemic. The owner of The Grey Eagle in AVL has even said that he is using his personal savings to pay for the monthly rent because they haven’t received any loans from the government yet. Many small venues may never receive a check or may only receive a check long after their rent is due. There’s even a coalition of 800 music venues that joined together (under the National Independent Venue Association) to ask Congress for further assistance, because without more money for their businesses they will not be able to stay afloat.
Link – https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/national-independent-venue-association-writes-letter-to-congress-988465/
Kayla McKinney
April 28, 2020 — 2:25 am
It’s difficult to be positive about the future of music when it is so uncertain. The only thing we know for sure is that artists, and live music venues will be the last people to go back to work. I want to think my favorite music venues in Asheville will make it through this, but there have already been multiple rumors of places closing their doors for good. Will tourism in Asheville continue when the virus starts to slow down if there is no live music? The music is such a huge part of what brings people to Asheville. I’m scared if we are in lockdown too much longer we will start to lose all the things that make Asheville so great.