Local Music Venues Struggle Amidst Pandemic

The Hollywood Bowl is one of many local venues forced to close due to the ongoing pandemic. (Octavia Anderson | The Corsair)

Marquees glow at night with "We Hope to See You Soon!" messages, and sidewalks that were formerly cluttered with lines stretching down the street remain empty. Los Angeles' live music venues are at the heart of the city's culture and entertainment, and for the first time, seats are empty.

Laura Connelly, Vice President/Manager of The Hollywood Bowl, who has worked with the venue for the last 22 years, keeps a positive outlook. Despite the first halt in their concert season in the last 98 years, the Hollywood Bowl is continuing to present a form of concert experiences to the public by providing a variety of virtual series.

In collaboration with KCRW, every Sunday through Oct. 11, they are broadcasting "World Festival at the Hollywood Bowl," a live-streamed archive of past shows including Blondie, Janelle Monáe, Flying Lotus, St. Vincent, Toro y Moi, and more. In addition, The Hollywood Bowl is launching "SOUND/STAGE” with The Los Angeles Philharmonic and various artists, starting on Sept. 28.

The sudden transition to digital shows wasn't always smooth sailing, but The Bowl has proven to be resilient.

"I would say we’re a bit like an oil tanker. It takes a little while for an oil tanker to make a turn. So it took us a little while, but once we got our heads around it, and we got a grip on everything that was needed, you know, we went full throttle as we do,” said Connelly.

Beginning these live-streams has opened new doors for The Bowl and viewers alike.

"There are many silver linings people have been able to find in this pandemic era, and I think that [live-streaming] is one of them," said Connelly. "The Philharmonic, now, will continue to have initiatives when we’re back doing live concerts. This is not all suddenly going to stop when we’re back to some kind of normalcy. So that’s exciting."

The food and wine vendors that provide The Bowl with its delicious cuisines and beverages during shows are still serving the public. Creating the “Hollywood Bowl Supper to Go” program, they offer socially distanced curbside pick-up every Thursday through Saturday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Customers can choose from a select menu of options, place an order ahead of arriving, and enjoy their dinner while supporting the venue.

The Bowl encourages concert-goers to make donations where possible, no matter how big or small, and stay informed about upcoming live-streamed events. "Watching and keeping up-to-date with what we’re doing is an amazing way to support us. Tell your friends and neighbors what you’ve seen on The Hollywood Bowl stage, and The Ford stage too," said Connelly.

Those like Jim Smith, the owner of The Smell for the last 23 years, are facing an uncertain future. The all-ages, volunteer-run, creative space downtown endured this concert-less summer by holding food and necessities drives to serve the homeless community. Collecting donations for food, clothes, and sanitation products to distribute to those in need, the venue continued to find ways to give back to the community. In addition, they hosted a number of live-streamed events to raise funds for Black Lives Matter and other community focused organizations.

"We haven’t been paying rent since March, and there’s a lot of uncertainty. We don’t know if that will be wiped clean when everything returns to quote-unquote 'normal,' or if we will have to pay that all back,” said Smith.

He is not alone. Many venues in Los Angeles and nationwide are concerned for what will come in the future months as COVID-19 rages on. Bills including utilities, insurance, mortgages, and property taxes are piling up while venues are scraping up a small fraction of their usual revenue if any at all.

The Smell encourages its patrons to continue supporting musicians by tuning into live streams to "keep the music scene on life support." They are not asking their fans and supporters to donate at this time.

"A lot of our patrons are also struggling at this time," said Smith. "So we wouldn’t want to reach out to them for donations and then not need them if the best case scenario turns out to be true, and the slate is wiped clean.”

Venues like The Mint, The Viper Room, and The Trip are taking donations via their GoFundMe accounts, while The Troubadour and Whisky-a-Go-Go are selling official merch on their websites to gain more revenue.

The Smell is just one of several Los Angeles music venues that call on their advocates to join The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) and Save Our Stages in asking senators and representatives for help.

NIVA consists of "Over 2,000 independent venues in 50 states that are banding together to ask Washington for targeted legislation to help us survive," NIVA said on the Save Our Stages website.

"We were the first to close. We will be the last to open. We are 100% shut down for an indefinite period of time. We have zero revenue. We are small businesses who are in danger," NIVA states.

By filling out the pre-written message on the "Take Action" portion of the Save Our Stages website, anyone can show their support for the Save Our Stages Act and RESTART Act. Both will produce grants to pay off venue debts and support employees, according to their website.