On the heels of the coronavirus (COVID-19) caused cancellation of SXSW's and the postponement of Pearl Jam's 2020 North American tour dates , Coachella and Stagecoach have now announced that their festivals will also be postponed from April to October 2020.
The questions now become, 1) Which festival or big tour is next? and 2) How many will either cancel or try to reschedule?
In the Toronto-area market we're looking at in May, the Budweiser Stage schedule all summer and into the fall, big concerts at Rogers Centre and Scotia Bank Arena. And then there are the festivals, including NXNE, , , Dreams, the Jazz festival, Toronto Festival of Beer, the , the CNE at the end of the summer, and more. The number of attendees for these festivals ranges from a couple thousand to as many as 50,000 (or more) - and with the uncertainty in the air, we're all left to wonder what will happen.
In sports, we're hearing reports that the NBA has told teams to prepare for the possibility of playing games to empty stadiums, with the TV broadcast being the only connection for fans. That might work for live sports, but it's going to work for live music. The fans need to be there for the big shows and the small shows. There are no broadcast rights to keep the financials afloat while the fans stay home. There are no concerts with no fans.
Across Canada, we have to assume festival organizers from to to Rockin' The Fields of Minnedosa are talking amongst themselves, paying attention to health officials and scientists and hoping for the best while preparing for the worst. In the most simplistic of terms, it seems like the three options on the table are 1) Go on as planned. 2) Reschedule and hope that COVID-19 is under control by fall. 3) Cancel, take a massive hit, and try to regroup for 2021.
As fans and media members, we sincerely hope that these big shows and festivals are able to continue as planned because COVID-19 comes under some sort of control or submission.
We also hope that any of these live event gatherings that do go on don't cause the further spread of a virus that officials are still trying to manage and control.
For now, if you are at a concert (indoors or outdoors) we recommend washing your hands when appropriate, bringing hand sanitizer to use periodically, paying with debit or credit at concession stands (money moves a lot of germs), trying not to touch walls, too many handrails, etc., avoiding water fountains, not getting too handsy with your fellow concert-goers, and staying home if you are sick!
We love live music. We love music fans. We love artists. And right now a lot of artists, festivals, and conferences have some very tough decisions to make and we don't envy them one bit.
Just like them, we're hoping for the best but preparing for Plan B.
Stay safe. Stay smart. Stay healthy.
ps. Nobody needs 376 rolls of toilet paper. Buy some good hand soap and try not to touch your face or other people.
