Jim Gilber / Nippertown

By MICHAEL HALLISEY
& KAITLIN LEMBO
[email protected]
[email protected]

Live music venues across the nation issued a “Red Alert” for everyone to see on Tuesday, Sept. 1.

Those venues following state mandates and responsible social distancing are dying a slow death without the ability to host live music on their stages. The large theatres in the Capital District — Proctors, the Palace, Troy Music Hall and Cohoes Music Hall — have been shuttered since March.

Restaurants and bars have received some reprieve as they’ve been allowed to open doors to patrons in recent months. With creativity and opportunity, they’ve hosted live shows on back patios and outdoor settings, only to have their collective hands slapped by the State Liquor Authority.

Jim Gilber / Nippertown

“With all this happened, I instantly tried my hardest to utilize my relationships and connections to continue to create a creative outlet for not just musicians but myself, my production crew, and all of the awesome fans that have supported this industry for so many years,” wrote local promoter Shane Spillenger on Facebook. “The biggest thing I found is we are by far a minority.”

Since implementing a tiered reopening plan, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has allowed several industries to reopen, from construction to shopping malls, allowing a resemblance of how life was before the pandemic. Other industries, however, remain closed. Theatres, concert halls, sport venues — destinations that draw large crowds from miles away — have been left in the dark. The impact of those closures was gathered by the advocacy group behind a recent online movement.

Live events contribute over $1 trillion annually to the U.S. economy according to WeMakeEvents.org. The website organized a silent rally that involved venues to light their facades red last Tuesday to signal lawmakers of their dire situation.

There is a growing concern that these venues won’t return when shutdowns are lifted.

Scores of local venues joined peers in Texas, Colorado, California and elsewhere. An estimated 1,500 locations participated. Many of those establishments represent the 12 million people once employed in the industry.

“The suits, powers-that-be, and people in general think we are crazy to have even chosen this career path in the first place,” Spillenger stated. “Now you throw Covid into the mix and we are really crazy.”

Evidence of those continuing to hold out hope shows in advertisements. Events scheduled long before pandemic-related shutdowns appear in newspapers, online posts and marquees. However, it’s also evident of financial woes. To stop the hemorrhaging of money lost to canceled shows, venues stick to meeting their obligations to touring managers until the artist cancels. So far, the novel coronavirus has helped cancel 95 percent of live events. Theatres have let go the majority of their staffs. Proctors, in Schenectady, furloughed 80 percent of its employees as it closed the doors to its theatre. Nearly 80 percent of people in the industry have lost their income. If theatres cancel a show before the artist, it could be costly.

The State Liquor Authority also snuffed out modest efforts from local musicians playing at bars and restaurants. Two weeks ago, it shut down promotion and ticketed events at bars throughout the state.

“Only incidental music is permissible at this time,” the SLA website said. “This means that advertised and/or ticketed shows are not permissible. Music should be incidental to the dining experience and not the draw itself.”

The SLA adds restaurants can host DJs or other non-ticketed shows if the venue has a license specifically granting it. Regardless of phase, comedy shows and 18-and-older activities are still

Jim Gilber / Nippertown

prohibited.

The regulation is just the latest bump in a very long road since COVID-19 first shut the area down in mid-March. Restaurants were forced to resort to take-out and delivery services once dine-in was prohibited. Restaurants are now operating at a reduced capacity, with patrons required to wear masks any time they stand up from their table. Musicians have resorted to virtual shows, with some self-producing and others using local venues as the platform.

The SLA’s recent stance was perceived as an about-face to a music scene that thought it was adhering to the rules, mounting additional frustration.

“We have the same rules as anyone else,” stated Spillenger. “Let us follow the protocols in place and stop changing the game on us … This is like playing Monopoly with a 5-year-old.”

Spillenger continued to describe his struggles with organizing shows at large, open-air venues. One by one, he detailed how those plans fell through. Days after his online vent, the promoter shared a legal advertisement for a Pink Talking Fish concert at Jericho Drive-in on Friday, Sept. 18, at 5 p.m.

The North American “Red Alert” is a follow up to a hugely successful event held in the UK earlier in August, during which more than 700 buildings and structures were lit up in red.

The RESTART Act (S. 3814 & H.R. 7481), introduced by Senators Todd Young (R-IN) and Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Congressional Representatives Jared Golden (D-ME) and Mike Kelly (R-PA), fills the gaps left by the Payroll Protection Program, to provide much needed relief for businesses whose expenses far exceed the payroll restrictions required by the PPP. Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation was a CARES Act provision to provide additional funding for those on Unemployment Insurance in the form of $600/week. It expired at the end of July. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, also part of the CARES Act, expands UI coverage to include those who are not usually eligible for regular UI benefits. This includes freelancers, self-employed workers and independent contractors.

WeMakeEvents is an international movement for visibility for the Live Events Industry during the COVID19 global pandemic. The North American sector of this movement is an advocacy group for industry visibility and passage of the RESTART Act.

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