When Governors Greg Abbott of Texas and Tate Reeves of Mississippi rescinded state masks’ mandates this week and declared that their states were reopening at full capacity, the news caught live music venues in both states off guard. It also left them with a decision to make: follow the optimistic decrees of their governors or stick to the Covid-19 security protocols that they have had in place for months.
Despite Abbott and Reeves’ enthusiasm – “I just announced that Texas is 100% OPEN. EVERYTHING, ”Abbott tweeted on March 2; “It’s time!” Reeves followed – most club owners and operators Rolling Stone spoken in Texas and Mississippi are choosing to remain cautious, adhering to proven pandemic safety guidelines so that a night on the town doesn’t become a super-spreading event.
The Far Out Lounge and Stage in southern Austin, Texas – which closed its indoor seats during the pandemic and built an outdoor bar and space for presentations, reducing its capacity from a few thousand to 400 – will continue to require masks, temperature checks and clearance Social. Governor Abbott’s announcement came as a surprise to local talent buyer Lawrence Boone.
“Most people in my world were like, ‘What the fuck are you doing?’ Like, ‘Don’t do this now, we’re starting to make some progress,’ ”said Boone Rolling Stone. “Nobody in our world, except perhaps a few, a vocal minority, wanted this to happen. We were just beginning to figure out how to make some progress. “
ACL Live – the downtown Austin theater that also hosts the long-running musical series Austin city limits – it is also not changing the way you are doing business. “ACL Live will maintain Covid’s current protocols, which include reduced capacity, social distance and wearing masks without sitting. The safety of staff, bands and customers remains our number one priority, ”said Colleen Fischer, the theater’s GM. Rolling Stone in an email.
Zach Ernst, the talent buyer for the venerable Austin blues club, Antone’s, says they have a commitment to fans who have safely purchased concert tickets, and to the artists themselves, some of whom have already contacted Ernst about the plans of the show. place.
“I heard from some artists who wanted to confirm, ‘Hey, we have a show coming. We want to keep it at its 20% capacity setting. ‘Artists, our team and the customers, I don’t think any of them are wanting us to change anything right now, ”says Ernst. “Particularly in Austin, there is a demand for these shows with reduced capacity and reserved seats. This is what customers are looking for and this is what artists want to do ”.
“Even if we could operate at 100%, it doesn’t mean that we would be really busy. People just weren’t showing up ”- Dallas club owner
Kim Finch owns three bars and locations in Dallas, including Double Wide, which suffered a series of water pipe ruptures during the recent Texas storm. She says her clubs will continue to follow security guidelines and does not expect business growth, even as Gov. Abbott gives Texans the green light.
“Even if we could operate at 100%, it doesn’t mean that we would be really that busy,” she says. “People just didn’t show up and I’m not sure if that will change people’s comfort level now.”
Midland, the popular country trio, has a series of socially distant concerts scheduled at minor league baseball parks in Corpus Christi, San Antonio and Amarillo, in March and April. Brandon Bissell, the president of Ballpark Music, the company that produces the shows, says the well-being of fans remains paramount.
“We have already sold a lot of tickets. These fans have entrusted us with their safety, under these guidelines, in this format, and if we change, it all falls apart. They will not be happy with us if we remove all these safeguards, ”says Bissell. “We are not out of danger yet [with the pandemic], but we are so close. We all see the finish line, so we are not going to throw all the progress out the window. “
Texas officially terminated its mask mandate and reopened for business on March 10, but Mississippi lifted its Covid restrictions on March 3. So far, many site operators in the state of Magnolia are unwilling to risk the health of their teams or customers.
Scott Caradine, owner of Proud Larry’s in Oxford, a university town bar that hosts national acts, plans to stay on course with socially distant concerts and masks, at least until Covid vaccines become more widely available and administered. “Until all Mississippi residents are eligible for vaccination, our plans and policies will not change,” he wrote in an email.
For some homeowners, the leadership vacuum at the state level creates confusion among local governments, business owners and customers about what exactly is allowed. In Jackson, Mississippi, the city’s leadership is still struggling to bring the city’s water services online after a winter storm damaged the infrastructure more than two weeks ago.
“At the moment we have received no response from the mayor, who has the ability to override the governor on certain things,” said Arden Barnett, owner of Duling Hall, a 400-person venue in Jackson. “But I still have the mentality that there is a right way of doing things and a wrong way of doing things, and a responsible way of doing things. I will not open Duling Hall to 100% capacity. No.”
Without the support of the highest offices in their states, some owners expressed concern about their ability to impose the use of masks and social distance with potentially hostile customers.
“This is a politicized thing now, and they feel empowered by what the governor said, which puts our team in a very dangerous position [of] ask someone to put on a mask when they feel it’s not necessary, ”says Pedro Carvalho, owner and operator of Austin’s Far Out.“ What changes now is people’s courage and this collective idea that we don’t need masks because now governor is saying that. This makes them more combative when it was already very difficult. It was an apolitical issue, but now … it becomes almost a battleground to be a part of. “
To complicate matters further, the lease changes made as a concession to companies that were unable to open at 100% capacity due to Covid-19 restrictions could be revoked by the owners. Carvalho – who says the two sides “are kind of screwed about it”, as homeowners are often at the mercy of the banks that own their mortgages – is concerned that if they are legally able to open 100% in the eyes of the state, then they they will do so become responsible for 100% of the rent payment again.
In Mississippi, Barnett has already received that call. “My landlord has been very kind and forgiving of the way things are, but it is ‘business is business’ and the banks, I’m sure, are crawling over him and, in turn, we got calls,” he says. “But if it was necessary, and I hope it never happens, if he says, ‘You have to open up 100%’, I would not be able to do it.”
Barnett’s reasoning is partly personal ethics, partly logistical reality: even if he wanted to open Duling Hall, he would have a hard time hiring a band next weekend that would agree to play in those circumstances and then convince his clients to pack out. “There are no tours out there that you can just snap your fingers at and you are suddenly selling your club. And then, you have the difficult battle of, ‘Are people comfortable enough?’ “
In Fort Worth, Texas, however, at least one local is taking his governor’s words seriously. Billy Bob’s huge honky-tonk is slowly making changes to his security protocols – an update on the site says the masks are now optional for customers. According to Marty Travis, the club’s general manager, masks are also not required for employees, unless they interact with the artists who perform at Billy Bob’s. Country stars like Miranda Lambert, Thomas Rhett and Midland are ready to appear at the club in the coming weeks.
“What we did was say, ‘Hey, guys, we’re going to give you a choice. We would love to see you wearing a mask; it’s smart for everyone now ‘, ”said Travis Rolling Stone. “But I am not going to force my people to wear masks. I will not force my guests to wear masks. It is the governor who said: ‘Open our business to 100%’, right or wrong ”.
Still, some fans are not happy with Billy Bob’s decision to wear an optional mask. A lively discussion on the site’s Facebook page shows some ticket holders uncomfortable with changes to security protocols and asking for refunds. The club confirmed the Rolling Stone that refunds will be made available.
Travis says he is also experimenting with increasing capacity, starting with shows next week by Koe Wetzel, Aaron Lewis and Kip Moore. Although Billy Bob’s has a capacity of 6,000 people, it is operating with a limit of 2,500. Travis will increase to 3,000, but not yet, in case Covid’s cases increase again.
“We will choose … the safe and progressive way to do this,” he says. “We can handle 3,000 without any problems. I can’t handle 5,000 right now. I can’t handle 6,000 right now. I don’t have the team and I don’t have any stones to risk if Governor Abbott is a genius or an idiot. “