My youngest daughter and her wife went to a wedding in Alabama a few weeks ago. Both are healthcare workers. Both are vaxxed. Everyone at the wedding was vaxxed. When they came home, my daughter got sick. Was tested several times for covid, each test negative. Flu-like symptoms and eventually pink-eye. Not COVID. 

A few days later, her wife developed symptoms and then lost sense of taste. Tested- covid. 

Airline, airport, rental car, filling station…who knows. 

Tonight- this from my Eldest daughter ( a prof at Elon) 

“We’ve now lost a fourth student at UNC since the semester started. We’ve also lost a student at Elon. I’m devastated. 

My students are the best part of my week. I can’t imagine losing one of them. 

Please, please, please check in on the people (especially the young people) in your lives. This has been a rough year. 

If you are struggling and you think things aren’t ‘bad enough yet’, please reach out for help. You don’t need to suffer alone.”

John Williams

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I decided not to play rec league hockey this winter. A huge decision here in Canada. Prime reason : if I get hurt playing I’m in for quite an experience trying to get treated. The anti vax folks have filled the hospitals and they get top priority. A fully vaxxed injured hockey player ? Of course if you are Wayne Gretzky you’ll get treated , otherwise wait in line. And it’s a long wait with the anti vax folks constantly cutting in line in front of everyone else. 

Cheers, Owen Dearing

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Saw Jason Isbell two nights in a row at Austin City Limits Live (the first shows that he required vaccinations or negative tests). The venue wasn’t checking IDs with the vaxx cards, and barely glanced at your papers. They weren’t happy about having the extra work, at least the guy that “checked” our cards. Those shows were sold out, and looked to be at least 90% attendance. Then, I saw him in Schaumburg, IL at a baseball field a few weeks later, and it was probably less than half full. It might have been because the word was out about the entry requirements (they checked them carefully at the venue with your ID), or because it was in the suburbs, instead of the city of Chicago (gasp!). Who knows? I know that it was the first time I’ve seen Jason recently without a packed venue. I also caught Toad the Wet Sprocket at Park West in Chicago (who also checked documentation carefully, and required masks), and it was maybe half full. They played the same venue two years ago to a full house. Attendance definitely seems down, for whatever reason(s).

Kevin Goodwin

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I had tickets to see Todd Rundgren last June. In March, when things shut down, I hoped that we’d be back to normal by June. 
 That didn’t happen.
When tix for the rescheduled tour went on sale in July, I felt confident enough that by Oct 23, we’d be good to go.

The Fillmore at the Jackie Gleason Theater (I’m happy to rant about the stupid name any time) DOES require proof of vaccination or negative test and masks allegedly. 
But as I’m reading all of responses here, I’m thinking it’s probably not worth it. 

I’m triple vaccinated, but a lung cancer survivor,  down a lung. Covid is the last thing I need. 

And I live in Floriduh. So I can’t trust anything. 

But, I haven’t been out to a live show in almost two years now. 
And it’s Todd Rundgren. 

I guess I have 22 days to figure out what to do.  

Nicole Sandler

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I am in my mid-50s. My local venue in Connecticut (not a bad seat in the
house) has three of my all-time favorites coming in the next few weeks:

- Todd Rundgren (seen 17x)
- Rick Wakeman (seen at least 10x between Yes and solo shows)
- Pat Metheny (seen 24X)

I will go see exactly NONE of them. Just can’t get comfortable with it.

Also, I have been a subscriber to the NY Philharmonic for about a decade.
When they called me to renew for the 2021-2022 season, I told the person on
the phone how much I missed the symphony, but no thanks. I hoped to see them
in fall ’22 for the ’22-’23 season.

As much as I miss live music, there is no way I can sit
shoulder-to-shoulder, indoors, with strangers and enjoy myself, despite
being fully vaccinated and living in a generally vax-compliant part of the
country.

Just. Can’t.

Bill Baker

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as a ticket broker i’ve noticed last minute sales are awful, but the
people planning to go are paying and buying. Also sports sales are
good, concert sales are worse

thanks, Tom

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We had several shows lined up for October.  Many of the shows cancelled.  One of them was out of town.  I won’t be buying tickets for any big shows until they figure this shit out. 
 
Dinosaur Jr., State Theater, Ithaca, NY CANCELLED (rescheduled for September 2022!)
Dead & Co, WPB, FL CANCELLED (they were in a catch-22 b/c state doesn’t require masks, but will fine the artist for each violation of COVID protocols, $5,000 per violation, per individual.  That made it impossible for Dead & Co to entertain in the State of Florida)
Tame Impala, AA, Miami, FL CANCELLED (after being rescheduled)
 
Made the effort to see James Bond in the theater this past weekend.  What a horrible waste of my vaccine.
 
Finally, I live in a State that does not see the benefit of wearing masks and is bucking their way through vaccine mandates.  As long as the individual states do not agree on how to approach this virus, we will be in this holding pattern for quite some time.  I’m not going to stay home, but I am going to continue to wear a mask, social distance as much as possible and wash my hands often.
 
Khila L. Khani
Hollywood, FL

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As somebody in the ticketing industry which manages over 3000 venues, there is no doubt that tickets sales have not returned to to pre COVID levels. However they are rising steadily. Not sure what people are expecting before we can even say with any confidence we are through the Pandemic.
Last week I attended a show at A.R.T in Boston which was packed, not a free seat in the house and nearly everybody was a boomer. The venue was masked and you had to show proof of vaccine before you were admitted.
Many ticketing companies including ours are integrating with Vaccine Apps and there is an overwhelming energy from Venue operators to ensure the safest environments possible.
More than this, many people are looking to smaller venues in their communities who have made it this far through the pandemic. People want to support local community venues that do not inflict huge ticketing fees on hardcore fans. There may indeed be a significant shift in the industry as Venues take more control over their brand in lieu of advances from larger ticketing companies.
These companies who breeze into town to promote larger events and may not have the same community spirit. If these events become super spreader events then it will be the smaller community venues that will feel the pain the most from a further winter lockdown.
I am confident that the public would much rather attend a live event than sit on their sofas and watch more streamed content, its just with Internet overload consumers are likely to be much more considerate of the quality of the bands they choose to go and see.

Regards

Stefan Prescott

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I attended my first post-COVID show on Friday night with my 15-year old daughter, a Harry Styles concert in Sunrise, Florida, in Broward County.  

We are New Yorkers and in town visiting my in-laws for the long weekend. I had no idea what to expect, given the DeSantis anti-mask campaign and his general misinformation m.o. 

All ticketholders at the FLA Live Arena were required to show proof of vaccination or a negative test within 48 hours of entry and be wearing a mask. The crowd, which was 90% young woman and teenage girls, was a compliant one, as far as concerts go. Even in the arena, which felt sold out, many patrons tended to keep their masks on (which didn’t seem to mute the Beatlemania-like shrieking throughout the show).  Before taking the stage, Harry’s voice was heard in a pre-recorded PSA asking the audience to keep masks on and be safe.  

I couldn’t help but think that Harry’s devoted, “treat-people-with-kindness” fanbase had something to do with my overall feeling of safety. There was also very little testosterone among the crowd, let alone any displays of political affiliation (unless one associates feather boas with liberals). Whatever it was, I was pleasantly surprised in South Florida.

Tony DiNota

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I’m  a double vaxxed boomer and I’ve been to perhaps 40 UK shows and festivals since restrictions were lifted, first social distanced shows since April, and then no-restriction shows since August. 
 
Here there is no legal requirement to show Vax certificates / passes or wear masks, however perhaps 50% of the shows do ask to see some evidence (certificate or rapid test). I’ve not seen anyone complain when asked and it’s quick and efficient, mostly. The biggest indoor show as Gorillaz at the 02, a free show for 18,000 health workers  and I’m regularly at small club shows, 100-300.
 
BTW I work in music and I have to admit, I’m not over-risk-adverse, although I would definitely not class myself as a high-risk-taker. Generally, I feel safe and in the instances where perhaps a club is just too crowded, I stand at the back.
 
Ticket sales are varied, some big shows selling out when you don’t expect them to, some smaller shows at lesser capacity, but at least shows are happening and musicians and crews are getting work (not enough money though, for sure).
 
Oh and as a manager of artists, I can tell you Brexit is a HUGE problem for our country and of course especially for most musicians who simply cannot tour profitably on mainland Europe any more… I take issue with ‘no one is telling the truth about Brexit’ trust me 60% + of the country are Fully aware that it was Boris’ Brexit Bullshit that has sold this country down the river, for his own personal benefit and many more now have ‘buyers remorse’…. 
 
We will never Stop calling Boris and Brexit out (and the left-leaning media still does), and wont stop until the day we re-enter the EU, even if it takes 20 years or more so my kids can enjoy the same rights and freedoms that we did.
 
Stephen  Budd

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I am 65, but don’t call me a boomer, cause I’m not. Anyway, with many things closed down in my town since last March, only recently have shows started happening. In that time, our only smallish venue closed and was torn down, so there are no shows with people packed together here for now.

In the last week and a half, I went to 4 shows, all at a small theatre, 3 of which had been postponed from last year and which I still had tickets for.
As I know the promoter and some of the staff, and one of them usually gives me a ride, I saw all the pre-show stuff. I have been double vaccinated and brought my card, and we were all wearing masks. As all these particular shows were folk music, much of the crowd were my age, but there were numbers of younger people.

Here’s the interesting part of this story. At the first show, I met a new worker for the promoter, a 21-year old college student who was doing merch for those shows. We got to talking quite a bit. I informed her about the artists she was selling stuff for so she’d have a better idea what people might ask. At three of the shows, the artists did not sign stuff at. One of them, a duo did, and it came off pretty great. Everything went well.

So yesterday, I got a call from my friend, and he let me know that the young woman had lost her taste and smell. It has been determined that she likely got it from another student at the college and not at the theatre. As a result she could not work shows on Sunday or tomorrow (Tuesday). She also was going to go home on a school break to see her parents starting on Friday but will now have to stay in quarantine.

I had been notified online a few days ago that there were going to be boosters available yesterday and on Wednesday and Friday. Initially, I was going to wait as the location is inconvenient for me. But I decided that I would do it this Wed, but NOT for me. I feel fine, and I try not to worry about this kind of thing. But I decided I wanted to do this for HER, so when I see her again (probably on Oct 25th) there will be one less person she has to worry about. That is really what we all should be doing – this is the only way it will ever end, if we don’t care about others, it will take much longer for the virus to go away.

Hope you and yours are well,
David Bly

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Respect for those artists going out and braving the cold temperatures.  Where I live, people are filling restaurants, wedding events, and downtown bars to capacity again, have been for quite awhile, but the live music industry continues to struggle.   Ticket sales, at least for my clients, are 50% what they were in 2018 & 2019, and 10-25% of those 50% bought their tickets a year ago and just don’t show.   The science says that if you got the shot, it was supposed to be more safe to go back out again, and many are, it’s just relative to what people are choosing to do.   

Jordan Burger
Madison House

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I do not know why the music industry, and specifically music festivals take so much heat and have so much pressure put upon us vs other entertainment options regarding Front of House COVID protocols. 

As we demonstrated this summer, Elevation is fully committed to running the safest events possible. My colleagues across the music industry have gone to great lengths (and expense) to insure the safety of our fans. I am proud of the efforts put forth by so many. 
 
But, in my opinion, the reality is, while music promoters and venues are checking ticket buyers for proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test,  most football, baseball and basketball stadiums/arenas across the country are doing nothing in this regard. 

NFL and NCAA football stadiums have been packed each of the past five weeks. No masks required, no proof of vax needed. 

Just last week, Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse – in Cleveland – released their COVID rules moving forward: “Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse this week announced some COVID restrictions for certain events, but those will  not include any regular season Cavs or Monsters games.”

https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/columbus/news/2021/10/05/covid-protocols-at-rocket-mortgage-fieldhouse-could-differ-for-concerts–cavs-games

What are we saying to the ticket buying public? Could the messaging be anymore mixed? Does science really tell us that a packed football stadium or basketball arena is free of COVID transmission, but a concert at the same venue is not????  How can we – as an industry – compete with these other high profile options? Wow!

Denny Young
President
The Elevation Group

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False Vacc Documents or tests…  They are out there!  Ridiculous!!!! Very Worried about this!!! We are going on the Blues Cruise Nov.  Kind of impressed with the safety protocol of the Cruise Lines! Wish us SAFTEY!!!!

XOXO

Mardi Silva
Controller
Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise

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The number of bands I’m dying to see?  Tons.  The number of bands I’m willing to die to see?  Zero

Peter Burnside