As long as states are in lockdown, concerts are going to be heavily impacted. As of now, there are three main strategies to still have a concert: host it online, postpone it, or have a much smaller gathering in person. In states like Washington, that last option won’t be possible in the near future.
Some examples of postponing concerts are Coachella and Stagecoach, which are some of California’s largest music festivals and usually happen during April but have both been postponed until October. And with much of the future still very uncertain, it’s unclear if they will have to be postponed further.
While some concerts and music festivals have been postponed, many have moved online and become virtual events. Some musicians have also released TV specials, such as Taylor Swift who aired a performance on May 17.
When it comes to virtual concerts, there are multiple taking place every single day. For example, on June 10th, Seattle musicians are participating in the All in WA online concert to raise money for COVID-19 support in Washington. Another example are the concerts streamed by Radiohead from its archive every Thursday at 2 p.m. PST on YouTube
The first concert to take place in person during lockdown was in Arkansas, where country-rock artist Travis McCready had a small concert on May 15. The venue, Temple Live, took some precautions to keep everyone safe such as seating people six feet apart and taking the temperatures of concert-goers at the door.
These postponed, virtual, and much smaller concerts are incredibly important to protect people and prevent the spread of COVID-19, but they’re also going to hurt the local economies. Music festivals can bring in a lot of tourism and money that communities need. Virtual concerts often have lower viewership and small concerts can still put people at risk. Reopening is going to have to be slow and will be full of trial and error and concerts and music festivals are going to be some of the last things to open up again.
