Live music has been among the biggest casualties of COVID-19 and whether it’s bar bands or symphony orchestras, concerts will look and feel a whole lot different.
TORONTO -- Live music is slowly returning to some parts of the country, but it looks nothing like it did before. Forget sold-out shows, cramming together at the stage, blasting speakers and crowd-surfing musicians.Crowds are small. Think dozens, not hundreds or thousands. And in many places, patrons must remain in assigned seats.
Vancouver has seen a return of music but venues can only be 50 per cent full, no more than six people can sit at one table and at some venues, the stage is blocked off by plastic barriers – the equivalent of a “musical aquarium,” said one music publication.Seeing artists in pubs, bars and concert venues won’t be the same for a long time, says Erin Benjamin, CEO of the Canadian Live Music Association.
This artist rendering released by Live Nation shows the set up for Live Nation's 'Live from the Drive-In,' concert series taking place July 10-12. “I think they will come back in a big way. Artists love them because the audience actually listens to the music and the homeowner commits to selling the tickets.”The irony is that while halls and arenas are dark, there has never been more live music being produced, says Benjamin at the CLMA, which represents show promoters, festival organizers and owners and operators of music venues.
Where the true effect will be felt is at the venue level, says Benjamin. Her organization is predicting -- based on polls of members -- that up to 96 per cent of live music venues in Canada are in danger of being permanently shut down. Trickbag was booked through September when COVID-19 swept in and wiped out the lucrative summer festival season.
He’s set aside savings and is only “vaguely interested” in drive-in shows or rooftop concerts. He won’t step behind plastic shields to perform. Young artists in pop, hip hop and rap haven’t been as affected by COVID-19 shutdowns because they don’t tour much anyway, says Alper. They rely on streaming, releasing videos and performing live on social media platforms.
Halifax-based singer-songwriter Christina Martin fears it will take two years for live music to rebound. The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra has cancelled 48 performances so far and it will be a very long time before its 2,500-seat Orpheum concert hall will be filled again, president and CEO Angela Elster told CTVNews.ca from Vancouver.
The VSO and other orchestras across Canada are carefully watching what has unfolded in Europe and other regions that have more broadly reopened. The Berlin Philharmonic, for instance, began performing in late May. Only 15 musicians could be on the stage together, with string players sitting two metres apart and woodwinds and brass spaced out five metres apart.
Household members can sit together but in between are gaps of three or four seats and every other row is left empty., which included recommendations that the length of an instrument be considered an extension of the individual for physical distancing purposes, sharing of equipment such as drumsticks or music stands be avoided, and that brass players empty their instruments of accumulated saliva into disposable containers rather than onto the floor as is normal practice.
Audiences will be assigned doors through which to enter and exit to minimize the route to their seats. Concerts will be shorter and without intermissions, to reduce crowding in bathrooms, she says. Festival supporters are embracing the virtual edition, she says, with food vendors putting together festival specials that can be ordered for delivery, and fans sharing their plans for gatherings in backyards, cottages, living rooms and parking lots to watch the livestream.
Online tools and platforms will only improve the virtual experience, says Parsons, but he thinks when it’s safe again, there will be a surge in interest in physical events. Audiences will crave the emotional and social impact of live concerts seen in person. And scientists have shown that when people move in time to music together, it boosts their sense of trust and willingness to co-operate with each other. Trainor’s own lab work has found that shows up in babies as young as 14 months.
Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton and Toronto band July Talk are among the artists planning drive-in summer shows and new urban drive-ins have hastily been constructed in Ottawa and Toronto to host movies and concerts. But at the same time, Monahan is among those who sees a permanent shift to a virtual option for music events. The entire Bluesfest event, presented in partnership with the National Arts Centre, will be streamed on Facebook Live for free. He says that will expand Bluesfest’s reputation and audience reach and give a wider platform to artists.
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