COVID Tears Through Live Music Plans for a Second Straight Summer

If anything the problem in all the heady planning was too many artists on the road at the same time creating a kind of touring traffic jam that made it impossible to properly market each show Then the delta variant arrived and cases rose again particularly in states with lower rates of vaccination Big tours and festivals were canceled or postponed Artists who had postponed shows once twice or three times already had to postpone again Stages that remained open had to navigate volatile rule changes and vaccine mandates imposed by state and local health officials promoters or the artists themselvesquotCrazy worldquot says Jim Bozzi regional marketing director for Live Nation in Connecticut which opened a new amphitheater in Bridgeport last month but was hit with a cancellation by the country band Little Big Town for Aug 26 because multiple members of the band39s crew had been exposed to COVID19Live Nation39s amphitheater in nearby Hartford had a Korn cancellation because lead singer Jonathan Davis tested positive and Neil Young pulled out of Farm Aid there next month due to pandemic concernsquotI find myself wondering whether Farm Aid will be safe for everyone with the COVID pandemic surgingquot Young posted on his website quotI worry about that I don39t want to let anybody down but still can39t shake the feeling that it might not be safe for everyonequotOne of the biggest tours halted halfway through was from Garth Brooks who after five stadium shows postponed his remaining fivequotIn July I sincerely thought the pandemic was falling behind usquot Brooks said in a statement quotNow watching this new wave I realize we are still in the fight and I must do my partquotOther bands halting tours or canceling dates because members tested positive include Widespread Panic Lynyrd Skynyrd String Cheese Incident and Black Berry Smoke Counting Crows postponed a pair of shows when a member of its crew got the same results And on Aug 25 Kiss canceled a date in Pittsburgh Aug 26 when lead singer Paul Stanley tested positive for COVIDFall Out Boy fell out of big ballpark dates with Green Day and Weezer in New York Boston and Washington after a member of its crew tested positiveLike Brooks other acts bowed out of performance plans this summer out of an abundance of caution from Nine Inch Nails to Stevie NicksquotWhen originally planned these shows were intended to be a cathartic return to live musicquot NIN wrote on social media quotHowever with each passing day it39s become more apparent we39re not at that place yetquotquotWhile I39m vaccinated at my age I am still being extremely cautiousquot Nicks 73 said in a statement quotBecause singing and performing have been my whole life my primary goal is to keep healthy so I can continue singing for the next decade or longerquotOne of her gigs was to have been the New Orleans Jazz ampamp Heritage Festival planned for October which itself was canceled this monthElvis Costello called the cancellation of the New Orleans Jazz Fest quota big disappointment and discouragement for musicians organizers crew and music fans alikequotBut COVID has caused other ripple effects for touring musicians like Costello The closing of international borders meant that he39ll have to play at least a couple of planned shows this month in Kansas City and Omaha without keyboardist Steve NieveSimilar complications put the kibosh on the mammoth world tour planned by Kpop superstars BTS whose international outing was put off this month until sometime next yearOne big festival that went off without an apparent spike in COVID cases was Lollapalooza in Chicago Figures released Aug 12 said that just over 200 attendees of the festival later tested positive for coronavirus which represented less than 1 percent of the total attendeesMore than that the festival looks to have boosted vaccinations quotTwelve percent of fans said Lolla was actually their reason for getting vaccinated which is a huge number with 400000 attendees throughout the weekendquot a spokesman told NBC NewsOther festivals from Bonnaroo to the Governors Ball to the Austin City Limits Festival will require vaccinations or a recent negative COVID test as will remaining summer shows presented by concert giants Live Nation and AEGBefore those companies decided on those restrictions though it was up to artists themselves to stand up and demand them which caused some push backOne of the most outspoken performers to demand proof of vaccination or negative test results for entry has been Jason Isbell the Grammywinning Americana artist A show in Houston was canceled because he said quotthe venue flatout refused to even attempt to implement the policyquotI39m all for freedomquot he said on MSNBC quotbut I think if you39re dead you don39t have any freedoms at allquotMichael Jaworek booking and marketing director for the venerable Birchmere Music Hall in Alexandria Va was implementing its vaccination requirement in its 55th season with a show by the BoDeans Aug 27quotWe have gotten some negative calls and ticket refund requests but I think they are minimalquot he said But he added quota vaccination card or negative COVID test within 72 hours of a show is rapidly becoming an industry standard both from venues and artistsquotJaworek has been juggling dates for a year and a half James McMurtry recently moved his tour due to virus concerns for a fifth time He said in speaking with other promoters this summer they are seeing some shows selling out fast or as expected quotbut we all have four to six shows that are off 20 to 30 percent and further it seems across age genre and race demos which has all of us scratching our headsquotFoo Fighters began the summer with a sign of hope the first full capacity rock show at New York39s Madison Square Garden for those who had proof of vaccination But the band had to postpone a similar show in Los Angeles reopening The Forum because a member of the band39s organization tested positive Ever hopeful Foo Fighters currently on the road have even announced new dates for the UK in 2022Click the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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COVID Tears Through Live Music Plans for a Second Straight Summer

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Roger Catlin

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