What will concerts look like when California reopens?
Even in the most optimistic future under COVID-19, live music will be one of the last things to return to normal. When it does — and it will eventually — shows will be profoundly different. Beloved venues may have closed for good, crowds will be wary of each other on dancefloors and digital life may have supplanted sweaty clubs and sunny festival fields.
Since The Times started documenting the fallout of COVID-19 for the music industry, the news has often been dire. The concert business is decimated for now, and everyone from wedding bands to record store clerks are terrified of the next few months.
But public health experts believe there is a path forward to return eventually. Artists have turned to livestreaming in ingenious, sometimes hilarious ways to stay afloat (and sane). Music, as always, finds a way to be heard.
We hear from readers every day about how much they miss the heartbeat of L.A. nightlife. Until it returns in all its close-quartered, ear-splitting glory, just imagine how good that first cold drink on a hot festival field will taste. We’ll get back there someday.
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Epidemiologists and Gov. Newsom warn that large-scale concerts and festivals are among the least safe gatherings during the coronavirus crisis.
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For fans and artists alike, there are ways to connect without leaving home.
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Musicians are just like us: cooped up at home, desperate for normalcy. Cue the live streams.
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The indie-rock band Sure Sure put on a series of concerts for their fans from their house in Atwater Village.
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Celebrities are people, too, and they’re flocking to Zoom for virtual fundraisers that feature music stars performing exclusively for the elite.
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Babyface vs. Teddy Riley drew hundreds of thousands of viewers, one in a series of popular split-screen face-offs.
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No Coachella? No problem. Travis Scott headlined “Fortnite” instead.
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Many nightclubs may never reopen. The Troubadour, which famously launched Elton John’s career, started a GoFundMe, but that may not be enough.
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A musician played onstage outdoors while concertgoers listened in their cars. Could this happen in California?
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“Nothing safely available on your TV or laptop,” writes Mikael Wood, “can compare to being in the rooms we’re now regarding as places of risk.”
