Save Our Stages Fest has announced the full schedule for this weekend’s event. Rock acts taking part include Foo Fighters (West Hollywood, CA’s Troubadour on Saturday), Rise Against (Chicago, IL’s Metro on Saturday), Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard (Nashville, TN’s Ryman Auditorium on Saturday), Portugal, The Man (Portland, OR’s Crystal Ballroom on Saturday), Dave Matthews Band (Charlottesville, VA’s Jefferson Theater on Sunday) and The Revivalists (New Orleans, LA’s Tipitina’s on Sunday), among others.
The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) is holding Save Our Stages Fest to raise awareness about the dire circumstances venues have been facing due to the pandemic. All donations made during the event will be going to NIVA’s Emergency Relief Fund, which “directly support(s) our most vulnerable venues experiencing catastrophic revenue loss.”
The COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the music industry back in March, abruptly shutting down venues with very little plan as to when they might safely be able to reopen. This has left many venues, especially the smaller, independent ones, without any revenue and very little aid to keep them afloat. Back in June, NIVA released a grim report warning that if nothing is done, 90% of independent venues could shutter due to the pandemic over the next few months.
In July, Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced the Save Our Stages Act, which would allot $10 Billion in small business grants to venues for use in paying “costs incurred during the COVID pandemic,” as well as expenses like rent, utilities, maintenance fees and more. In late September, it was announced that the HEROES Act would be updated with provisions from the Save Our Stages Act. That bill is currently awaiting passage in the House of Representatives.
Save Our Stages Fest takes place October 16-18 with live sets streamed from independent music venues across the United States. The festival can be viewed on NIVA’s YouTube channel. A full listing of sets and set times can be found on the Save Our Stages website.
