THE TRUTH ABOUT THE NORTH’S MUSIC VENUES Amid the recent ballyhoo about big grants and an accelerated vaccination rate, some hard truths — and unknowns — remain
Lake Street Studio’s Stage, Glen Arbor
By Craig Manning “The show must go on.” It’s a common mantra in show business, but what happens when a global pandemic shutters venues and turns concerts and other live performances into potential superspreader events? How can the show go on when the show literally can’t go on? For the past year, music venues across the country have been contending with these questions — with increasing desperation. While every industry has been touched by COVID-19 in some way, arguably no sector has been hammered as hard as live music. Last summer, a survey of nearly 2,000 music professionals, conducted by the National Independent Venue Association, found that 90 percent of independent music venues were at risk of closing their doors permanently due to the pandemic. The good news is that, finally, there is light at the end of the tunnel: The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced last week that all state residents aged 16 and older will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine starting April 5. Increasingly, signs point to vaccination efforts being widespread enough to achieve herd immunity — or something close to it — by summer. That news bodes well for live music, which could potentially see the light of day in 2021 after more than a year of stage lights gone dark. Northern Express called a dozen different northern Michigan venues — ranging from small, intimate rooms to sprawling open-air auditoriums — to get a sense of where things stand as the coronavirus pandemic reaches what will hopefully prove to be its twilight days. Here are the five key takeaways. 1. Venues have been getting creative
(and leaning on donors) to weather huge revenue losses. Those reports you’ve read about performance venues losing almost all their revenues over the past year weren’t exaggerated. According to Xavier Verna, executive director of the Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts in Manistee, the theater “experienced over 75 percent revenue loss in 2020.” While Verna adds that the Ramsdell has been able to reschedule most of its events, thus “effectively deferring income to a later date,” the losses are still significant. It’s not just the smaller venues feeling the hits of canceled events, either. Trey Devey, who serves as president of Interlochen Center for the Arts, says the pandemic has created “the most challenging period” in the institution’s 93-year history, with the cancellation of last summer’s Interlochen Arts Festival concert series contributing to “a financial loss exceeding $15 million.” Generous contributions from donors, combined with creative strategies on the part of venues, have helped to ease the blow of big financial losses. Verna says the Ramsdell was able to be open for “a short period during the year in 2020,” during which time it presented art exhibits, organized Manistee’s first-ever drive-in concert, showed screening recaps of National Theatre and Metropolitan Opera performances, and even hosted a single indoor concert: a show featuring the Boston Brass that wowed the in-person audience of 50 and another 600 who watched at home. At Interlochen, Devey says over 725 supporters contributed donations to the institution’s new “Emergency Response Fund.” That money, which has been used to “support scholarships, health and wellness investments, and the retention of faculty and staff,” helped make up for the revenue
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Lake Street Studio’s Stage, Glen Arbor Great Lakes Center for the Arts in Bay Harbor Great Lakes Center for the Arts in Bay Harbor
losses caused by the cancellations of both the Interlochen Arts Festival and last summer’s Interlochen Arts Camp. 2. Grant funding has been a lifesaver (but hasn’t been equally accessible to everyone). For some venues, grant funding has been central to the survival and recovery process. Just recently, the Michigan Independent Venue Promoter Association (MIVPA) announced grants to 101 venues across the state — including several in northern Michigan — as part of its Michigan Stages Survival Grant Program. Both Old Town Playhouse in Traverse City and Great Lakes Center for the Arts in Bay Harbor will collect $40,000 in grant funding through the program. The Cheboygan Area Arts Council and the Blissfest Music Organization in Harbor Springs also each received $40,000 grants. This type of grant funding is crucial for venues. Deb Jackson, executive director of
Old Town Playhouse, says the organization lost about $1 million in the first year of COVID-19, between lost sponsorships, advertising, and ticket sales. Alexandra Myers, marketing director the Great Lakes Center for the Arts, says the venue’s 2020 earned income “was just 20 percent of the previous year.” Not every venue has been so lucky to Carl Ganter land big grants, however. “We’ve applied to every grant possible to Carl Ganter help address any gaps, and most have turned us down,” Verna said of the Ramsdell. “We are anxiously waiting for the Small Business Administration Shuttered Venue Operators Grant portal to open. Their funding for $15 billion was approved at the end of December, and the grants to venues could be significant.” 3. Virtual events have helped ease the blow for venues and artists alike — but they still need your support. In downtown Traverse City, Studio
