I don’t know when it will be safe to return to singing arm in arm at the top of our lungs, hearts racing, bodies moving, souls bursting with life. But I do know that we will do it again, because we have to. It’s not a choice. We’re human. | | | | Is this seat taken? The setup for Travis McCready's controversial May 18 concert at TempleLive in Fort Smith, Ark.
(Kevin Mazur/Getty Images) | | | | | |  | “I don’t know when it will be safe to return to singing arm in arm at the top of our lungs, hearts racing, bodies moving, souls bursting with life. But I do know that we will do it again, because we have to. It’s not a choice. We’re human.”
| | | | | | rantnrave:// So who had 2020 on their 2020 bingo card? Nearly a full year without live music. Or, rather, nearly a full year without live music as we used to know it. MADISON SQUARE GARDEN? No. FORTNITE? Yes. Standing room only? Forget it. Parked cars only? Sure. Vaccine passports? Sounds like a terrible bandname. SXSW? COACHELLA? GLASTONBURY? Doubtful, questionable and who knows—for 2021, that is. Democrats and Republicans in Congress coming together to provide the better part of $15 billion to rescue clubs and theaters that haven't been open since March? Why yes, that actually happened. It probably won't be enough, and so much has already been lost: venues, businesses, livelihoods. But there's reason for at least some optimism as we head into 2021 and put the disaster that was 2020 behind us. As we close it out, we offer a chronological snapshot of a strange, lost year as it happened, from the canceling of SXSW in March to the passing of the SAVE OUR STAGES act in December, with the occasional unexpected bright spot along the way... (A note, meanwhile, to rock fans tweeting or otherwise sharing the lyric "Got a feeling '21 is gonna be a good year": '21 does not, in fact, turn out to be a good year in the rock opera you're quoting. It turns out to be a rather horrible year. Let's make this '21 better than that '21. And better than this '20)... You're not heading out to a live show for New Year's Eve, and we'll beg you one last time not to seek out an underground dance party. Here, here and here are some livestreaming alternatives... Or if you want to watch a movie or two or three, here's REDEF chief JASON HIRSCHHORN's awesome Twitter thread of music biz documentaries, which could keep you busy well into the new year and beyond... Wishing you a safe, healthy, happy new year and a truly better 2021. See you Jan. 5. | | | - Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator | | | |  | Austin 360 | | One year ago this month, during the South by Southwest Conference and Festivals, the blocks on Red River Street between 10th and Sixth streets, and on Sixth between Interstate 35 and Congress Avenue, were almost impossible to walk down quickly. Between about noon and midnight, it was jammed, such were the crowds of people, most of whom looked like they were having the time of their lives. | | | |  | VICE | | When the restaurants closed and tours were cancelled after the coronavirus outbreak, some Philadelphians lost two jobs on the same day. | | | |  | Level | | Over 100 thousand people attended Derrick ‘D-Nice’ Jones’ Instagram Live fete on Saturday. LEVEL tracked down some notable folks to relive the monumental jam. | | | |  | Los Angeles Times | | Some L.A. staging and event-production firms have, in a matter of days, remade their companies to build a first line of defense against the coronavirus. | | | |  | The New Yorker | | Fund-raisers, grants, and governmental relief are all helping to keep musical artists afloat. Yet the industry may already be showing signs of permanent damage. | | | |  | Complex | | I hadn’t been to a real concert for over two months, and I didn’t have anything better to do tonight, so I downloaded Fortnite on my Nintendo Switch and attended my first video game concert. Here’s how it went. | | | |  | The New York Times | | Independent venues are critical to local scenes and artists on the rise. With concerts on hold during the pandemic, they’re struggling to hang on and fighting for government aid. | | | |  | The Atlantic | | "I don't know when it will be safe to return to singing arm in arm at the top of our lungs, hearts racing, bodies moving, souls bursting with life," Dave Grohl writes. "But I do know that we will do it again, because we have to." | | | |  | Vulture | | If this is how we party now, pop’s reigning futurist is here for it. | | | | | The New York Times | | Fans who had to have their temperatures taken and wear masks for the Travis McCready show said it was worth it for the experience of hearing live music again. | | | | | | | it was good until it wasn't | |  | The Diplomat | | Venues and musicians in Wuhan, China’s underground rock capital, are struggling with lockdowns after the outbreak of COVID-19. | | | |  | Pitchfork | | With concerts on hold, it’s abundantly clear that most musicians can’t live off streaming income alone. How could the system be fixed? | | | |  | Billboard | | “Can we just get to 2021?” asks Avenue Beat’s new viral hit. Other artists are ready for this nightmarish year to be over, too. | | | | | The New York Times | | With no return date for shows in sight, fans and artists are adapting to a new way of experiencing music together. Whether it’ll keep everyone satisfied -- and paid -- is still unclear. | | | |  | Slate | | The city’s music scene can’t work without visitors. What will become of its venues, musicians, and economy? | | | |  | NPR Music | | Independent music venues continue to be among the businesses hardest hit by the global pandemic. The corporate behemoths of concert promotion, however, can weather the storm. | | | | | The New York Times | | The entire concert industry is struggling as the Covid-19 shutdown continues. But a genre rooted in live performance and in-the-moment dynamics is in particular peril. | | | |  | Pollstar | | We were prepared for anything, except for maybe just how cathartic and transcendent it would be hearing pure, unadulterated, gloriously performed live music from Fitz & The Tantrums with 286 other parked vehicles and their passengers at the City National Grove of Anaheim. | | | |  | DJ Mag | | Some high-profile DJs have been criticised for playing big, crowded legal shows — dubbed ‘Plague Raves’ — in Europe during the COVID-19 crisis. Some have started playing socially-distanced events as a baby-steps route back to something approaching normality, while others are staying put at home until coronavirus passes. It's a minefield to navigate. | | | |  | Music Tech Solutions | | Livestreaming was intended to be temporary. It was a bridge between a pre and post COVID reality. But it's not. The biggest of Big Tech companies intend that it is permanent and they mean to control it. | | | |  | Rave New World | | In search of redemption and revolution in the pandemic nightlife underground. | | | | | Los Angeles Times | | With artist-friendly Bandcamp Fridays and initiatives that benefit progressive causes, the online music platform has become beloved beyond its indie roots. | | | |  | FLOOD Magazine | | With artists and venue staff at the forefront of the fight to keep live music alive, we talked to Best Coast, Phantogram, illuminati hotties, and more artists and club owners about the industry’s future. | | | |  | The Washington Post | | The nation took drastic efforts to wipe out the virus, and bands and fans are among those reaping the benefits. | | | | | The New York Times | | Many small venues where artists get their start are in peril. Marc Geiger, a longtime music executive, is starting a venture he hopes lives up to its name: SaveLive. | | | |  | Bloomberg | | With concert venues closed, musical careers must be forged on streaming platforms instead. | | | | | Los Angeles Times | | It was the worst year for live music in... well, ever. The Times spoke with two dozen musicians and live-music pros to assess the damage done by the pandemic. | | | |  | Rolling Stone | | For Dayna Frank, owner of First Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the feeling was completely indescribable. For Kerri Park, general manager at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia, there was a palpable shift towards positivity. For Christine Karayan, owner of the Troubadour in Los Angeles, there was still some understandable hesitancy. | | | |  | The Daily Beast | | Whatever happens next, please take care of your friendly neighborhood creative weirdo whose music has helped you make it through this plague year. | | | | |  | | YouTube | | | | | | | | | | | Title: Pandemic. Content: #BlackLivesMatter | | | | | | | | © Copyright 2020, The REDEF Group | | |
