It’s 2021…finally! With the events of 2020, it’s a pretty good bet that there isn’t a soul on earth that couldn’t wait for the new year to begin, a start to hopefully better days ahead. In the arts world, and specifically live music, there is optimism that perhaps at some point in 2021 the world may begin to experience something that is more representative of what we knew pre-pandemic. While it will be many months down the road before venues host full-size bands that play to large crowds, with the vaccines finally here…
it provides a positive outlook and hope that the world is on track to finally getting past the pandemic and back to a semblance of normalcy.
Venues normally plan live music schedules anywhere from six months to a year in advance. However, given the challenges of Covid restrictions, venues have been going through a juggling act. Some venues are already planning 2022 schedules, anticipating that they will be able to finally host a regular live music event without the current restrictions. Yet, for 2021, many local venues are already planning their live music calendars for late spring and early summer months, with the hope that it will reflect a more normal time. They want to move beyond the modifications they had to make and endure in order to attempt to stay in business. The venue’s patrons, the band fans, and the local communities as a whole, all share a common desire to live life like it was pre-Covid.
There appears to be a collective hope from bands, venues, fans, and those who participate and support the local live music scene (ie. music teachers, instrument stores, etc.), that 2021 will be a transformative year. That is, changing the course of where arts are today, one of survival, to a better and brighter future filled with optimism.
Do you feel a renewed optimism with 2021 here?