In my last blog post, I outlined our plans for reopening The 443. If Central New York gets through Phase 1 and Phase 2 without a huge spike in cases, we would be allowed to reopen on June 12. Our original plan was to open the following weekend on June 19, but like everything else these days – those plans have already changed.
I knew a lot of our touring artists would end up canceling their summer shows because their dates piggyback on each other. They can’t drive up to Syracuse for a one-off, and with every state on a different schedule it’s unlikely the dates that get them up here are still happening. It probably won’t make sense for anyone based in Nashville, Austin or New Orleans.
But, I thought we could piece together a respectable schedule with artists who are from other parts of NY state or maybe even other states in the Northeast. We aren’t all that far away from Philly or Boston, you know? Unfortunately, one of our June shows canceled due to safety concerns and another artist inexplicably decided to get out the music business.
That one really hurt, since it meant refunding $700+ in tickets we sold before the shutdown. OUCH.
At this point, we’ve decided to wait until after the July 4 weekend, we’re shooting for July 10…but our July shows are dropping off the calendar too. We’re going to try just being a couple days a week for a while, but I’m skeptical we can make this work.
Consider that summer is a brutal time for downtown bars and restaurants under the best of circumstances…our sales drop by about 40%. And summer is still summer. People will be on their boats or at their summer cottages and camps, maybe even more so this year. Boating with a few friends or bringing the family to the lake is certainly less of a risk than going to a bar to hear live music with a bunch of people you don’t know.
As much as we’re all anxious to get out of the house, the virus is still very much with us. And I honestly don’t think that will change in 30 days, or 60 days or 90 days. But since it’s not realistic to extend the shutdown until the end of the year, being careful and taking precautions are the new reality we’re faced with. It might mean the public will stick pretty close to home regardless of what’s open.
I know we wouldn’t have trouble booking local artists once we get the doors open, but again, even under the best of circumstances we’ve really struggled with attendance for those shows. It has nothing to do with talent or ability. We’ve put spectacularly gifted performers on our stage and they’ve played to nearly empty rooms. We always thought we would be a home for local original artists, but for whatever reason, we haven’t been able to develop it the way we had hoped.
Our shows featuring touring artists have consistently done well and often sell out, so we made a conscious shift this year to do more of them and cut down on the number of local shows. It’s not what we wanted, but it was necessary to keep the doors open.
With all our touring acts pushing their shows to the fall, it begs the question – can we make an all local calendar work? And is it a smart idea to reopen during the summer? It would be a dicey proposition even without a pandemic in the mix.
On the other hand, maybe all the “normal” rules will go out the window.
Maybe this extended shutdown will help people value live music again. Maybe paying a cover won’t be so offensive.
Maybe we’ll be one of the few venues in town doing music at all. I don’t believe bars not charging a cover will be able to book live music as long as they are still at half capacity. Or maybe a cover charge for live music will become the norm again.
Maybe people have been cooped up for so long they’ll come out in droves.
Maybe.
