STRIKE UP THE BAND

By Ella Fasciano

Live music is finally returning after being on pause for over a year. However, as artists start filling up theater calendars and the sounds of music start filling the streets, concerts are taking on a new shape. Masks, proof of vaccination, or a negative COVID test are just some of the precautions venues are taking to protect concert-goers as they enjoy bands again.

Venues are continuously updating their safety procedures in response to changing COVID guidelines. Michael Cambron, a senior who has worked the door at venues such as ONCE Somerville and The Crystal Ballroom at the Somerville Theatre, saw firsthand how COVID policies have impacted concert experiences.

While he was working at ONCE Somerville this summer, the venue started operating fully outdoors. Cambron explained over email that part of his job was to take people’s temperatures and ask about their vaccination status. If vaccinated, patrons were not required to wear masks, while unvaccinated individuals had to mask up.

The return to in-person events has not been without challenges. Remembering one difficult interaction, Cambron said, “Some guy refused to let me take his temp[erature], which was required for entry. He tried to cite that since he was on public property, I had no right to perform a medical procedure on him. This was total bullshit of course—ONCE is a private music venue that obviously has the right to set its own rules and regulations about COVID. He let me take his temp[erature] after I made him wait at the gate to the venue for 15 minutes.”

The adjustment to live crowds has been on musicians’ minds as well. For senior Ella McDonald, a solo artist, the energy of a live show is something Zoom was never able to capture. They said, “For me, it’s been really, really exciting to just be reminded of what I love about music and performing, and just the experience of performing live shows again. Being able to see the live response of audiences, being able to see the reactions on people’s faces, being able to feel the energy in the room and respond to it and pick what to play next and change my energy throughout a song has been really, really wonderful.” She said that masked audiences were worth the energy of a live crowd: “To be able to do shows outside, even if you’re masked… it’s been such an improvement.”

Tufts students can also expect to hear many more concerts back on campus in the coming weeks. Zoe McKeown, a junior and the General Manager of WMFO, Tufts’ freeform radio station, talked about planning events later this semester with Tufts bands. Because WMFO is a student organization, she explained that the group must follow Tufts COVID policies. McKeown said over email, “For the time being and in the spring, we will do outdoor events, and when it’s cold we will have concerts inside with masks and reduced capacity. It’s not rocket science. We know how eager people are to see live music, and we want to provide that safely in any way we can.”

Alongside WMFO, the Music Department is also figuring out how to plan concerts this semester. Anna Griffis, the Coordinator of Music Public Relations and Box Office at the Granoff Music Center, said over email that the department is planning programs in a whole new way to “ensure safety during performances in Granoff. Obviously, there’s the mask mandate, so all

performers are masked and those playing winds and brass instruments and singing are wearing special performance PPE and using instruments bags. All performers that are not part of the Tufts Community must submit proof of vaccination.” She further explained that after much consideration, the department decided to have event attendance be limited to people with Tufts IDs, but she said, “We are providing a livestream of every event in Granoff, which is free and available to anyone through our Live Streaming Page.” Through this hybrid format, students and community members alike can enjoy a variety of live music events the department is putting on, including their Sunday Concert Series and other specialty concerts throughout the week.

However and wherever live music is experienced, there has always been something indescribable about it, according to Tufts English and Music Professor Michael Ullman. He described over email many memorable concerts, including one of his first live music experiences that, decades later, still sticks with him. Ullman described his experience seeing Louis Armstrong with his friend when they were teenagers. He explained that he had listened to a couple Armstrong records before, but nothing could prepare him for the experience. “His trumpet sound was so rich, not at all brassy, but powerful. Everyone else stood in front of a microphone but he stood back and blew into the sky. I felt like I was in the presence of some benevolent god,” Ullman said. “I still remember just the first syllable: ‘I’… it was such a complex sound. So here was a legend coming to life. It was magic.” Memories of live music seem to be a big part of the concert going experience, and even as students experience music in new, COVID-safe ways, memories are still being made.

While venues try their hardest to be COVID-safe, there is still some fear present among audiences. Sophomore Lucy Millman said over email that she saw her first concert since the pandemic about two weeks ago. Her experience of seeing Dr. Dog with some of her friends was “exciting and scary, all at the same time.” She said, “I was super stoked to be at a concert again. I’d be lying if I said it felt the same for me though. I’m still a bit paranoid and going to a large event was a bit scary, even though masks were required.” Millman explained that even though she has been vaccinated for a while, she, like many people, is easing her way back into crowded experiences. “Some things have started to feel okay again, but there are still some things I’m a little nervous about… I’m so excited to try and return to some normalcy, but I think I’m still just figuring out how I feel and what feels right for me, as well as being safe and respectful.”

Sophomore Gio Torres-Lorenzotti went to their first concert since the pandemic over the summer in Uruguay when they saw The Backseat Lovers. She described the feeling as “surreal” and remembered not wanting to take the moment for granted. “That energy—feeling even more excited to just be in a room filled with people, not worrying about any consequence, even though we probably should still have been worrying about some sort of consequence, but nothing else mattered but just being present,” she said. After missing live music for so long, it is clear that people are trying to soak up every moment a concert has to offer.

As venues, musicians, and concert-goers try to figure out the balance between presenting in-person events and safety, the excitement of in-person shows is still as powerful as ever. The experience of being in a crowd seems to be a fundamental feeling that is hard to come by in any other way. McKeown describes being “in a sea of people” at a concert as having a “deeply spiritual side.” She said, “Through this collective experience, you can tap into that ‘universal oneness,’ and many of your fears and problems can feel a whole lot smaller. I think people miss this feeling of unity, and concerts can help with all the pent up loneliness.” Ullman also talked about this time where “many of us have been isolated in an unprecedented way” having an effect on the draw of live music today. He said, “The audience is part of any performance: their responses matter… a person in an audience feels in some way like a co-creator and feels some solidarity with the others in the audience who share similar tastes.” Millman said that live music will always be special because “seeing a band you really love and seeing them with people you really love, is in my opinion, one of the happiest moments you can have.”

In the midst of an ongoing, ever-changing pandemic, live music has proven itself as a potent, connecting force. Making unforgettable memories and the experience of being a part of a crowd have always been fundamental to live music. It is clear that even with the uncertainty and new safety precautions that this pandemic presents, those core parts of live music will never disappear.