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Live music is coming back, but shows will look different

Jasmine Garsd Apr 26, 2021
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Bad Bunny on stage in Los Angeles in 2018. Presale ticket purchases for his 2022 tour set a record on Ticketmaster. Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Live music is coming back, but shows will look different

Jasmine Garsd Apr 26, 2021
Heard on:
Bad Bunny on stage in Los Angeles in 2018. Presale ticket purchases for his 2022 tour set a record on Ticketmaster. Kevin Winter/Getty Images
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It’s been over a year without live music, which hit the industry hard. Musicians, venues, sound engineers, roadies — everyone took a hit.

Now, as COVID-19 vaccinations increase, it looks like live music may be coming back. Slowly but surely, small and large concerts are popping up across the country. And while they’re not going to look the same as before, for fans and artists the comeback is welcome.

Take the presale tickets for Bad Bunny’s 2022 tour. They went online a few weeks ago and set the record for the fastest-selling tour on Ticketmaster since 2018.

This summer, what a live concert will look like will be different. In New York City, for example, large arenas like Madison Square Garden can only reopen at 10% capacity and will require proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test.

In smaller indoor venues, it gets even trickier. Singer Sofia Rei will be performing in front of a 50-person audience in Brooklyn in June. “We were told that we would have to wear a veil to perform,” she said. “Because for singing there is more risk of transmission of COVID because of droplets.”

Limited capacity also means higher ticket prices.

Not all musicians are jumping at the opportunity to get out there. Damon Krukowski, of the duo Damon & Naomi, thinks there’s too much pressure on artists to go back to performing live. “I personally feel it’s too soon,” he said. “I don’t think we know the health risks involved. “

At least for this summer, you’ll get to pick between some live music shows or dancing in front of a screen if you so please. 

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