The Forecast Is Victory: Live Entertainment Is Making a Comeback

Phoebe Legere (right), with accompaniment from Crystal Field, sang "Thank You for Being Who You Are" at the Theater for the New City on February 13 (photo courtesy of Phoebe Legere)

The snow is melting, temperatures are rising slowly, COVID infection rates are diminishing to safer levels, and governmental restrictions are loosening. Musicians are seizing the moment. Masked and socially-distant performances are beginning to multiply. The live entertainment industry is showing new signs of life. 

New York State's NY PopsUp program launched last Saturday with a concert featuring Jon Batiste and others at New York City's Javits Center and the program will continue this afternoon with a concert featuring Shoshana Bean and others at Essex Crossing. Also this weekend, Brookfield Place's cultural events include an on-going free-admission Sunday afternoon concert series in the Winter Garden (Sun Wei on February 28 and March 14, Yang Wang on March 7). The Theater for the New City continues its Open 'Tho Shut curbside free-admission variety shows on Saturday afternoons; today's program includes performances by Pablo Raul, Natasha Velez & Justin Rodriguez, Shmully Blesofsky, and COBU at 2 p.m.

Susan Mitchell performed solo on violin at the Theater for the New City on February 13

Actors Mary Tierney and Mary Ellen Ashley performed "My Dinner with Mary" at the Theater for the New City on February 16

Promising new initiatives soon will bring live entertainment to all five boroughs of New York City. Beginning March 1, New York City's Open Culture program will issue permits to local arts and culture groups for outdoor performances. Lincoln Center will launch Restart Stages on April 7, producing events on 10 outdoor stages. Little Island, a new $250 million three-acre park built on a former pier in Hudson River Park, will open in the late spring of 2021 and host live entertainment.

Other signs of a newly blossoming entertainment life include the resumption of television tapings in the city, including FBI and Pose, in the East Village in the past week. Bars and restaurants that host music acts are catering to indoor diners again and are staying open later, as the hospitality industry continues its lobby for increased indoor capacity and later curfews. Even now, busking musicians already are gravitating to many parks, including Tompkins Square Park.

Flyers on lampposts alerted the community to a taping of FBI

Workers attach blossoms to a bare tree on East 10th Street, reportedly for a scene in Pose

In downtown Manhattan, the Red Lion and Sour Mouse NYC reopened last weekend and began presenting live music. The Anyway Café, Baby Brasa, Caravan of Dreams, the Corner Bistro, Marshall Stack, Pinky's Space and Rue-B continue to feature live music regularly. The Blue Note, Cafe Wha?, City Winery and Groove are among the venues that may be poised to reopen as soon as the government eases the restrictions on indoor capacity.

Arnt Arntzen performed Tin Pan Alley and old timey New Orleans jazz at the Anyway Café on February 17

The Typsy Gypsy Girls performed Russian and Middle Eastern folk and gypsy music at the Anyway Cafe on February 20

Local, National and International Forecasts

How far this booming trend can go remains a mystery. Last week, limited numbers of spectators began attending sports competitions at area arenas and stadiums under strict restrictions, but no concert promoter seems to be willing to stage concerts at 10 or 15% capacity. Broadway and other theater-size venues may begin reopening by the summer, although Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease specialist, predicted that the fall is a stronger possibility.

Ticketed concerts are booked for the summer at the Rooftop at Pier 17 and Forest Hills Stadium, although most are concerts that were postponed from last summer and will happen only if governmental restrictions are further loosened. One upstart promoter contracted to present concerts at the 3,300-seat United Palace, but no headliners or dates are announced. On a smaller scale, a newly redesigned Theatre 80 St. Marks is nearly ready to introduce a nightly dining and entertainment experience.

The Steven Chelliah Band performs classic rock at Sour Mouse NYC on Friday evenings.

The Benny Benack & Stacy Dillard Ensemble performs jazz at Rue-B on Tuesdays and Fridays

Nationwide, mega-concert promoters are surveying the possibilities of staging annual summer festivals that normally draw tens of thousands of consumers and hundreds of music acts and concessioners. Beginning with SXSW last March, all festivals were cancelled in 2020. So far this year, various promoters are planning on staging Governors Ball, New Orleans Jazzfest, Punk Rock Bowling, and Summerfest, although the dates were pushed from late spring and mid-summer to autumn. Boston Calling and Hangout are cancelled for 2021. Promoters have not yet revealed intentions for Coachella, Afropunk and other large annual summer festivals.

Internationally, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced last week that indoor concerts in the United Kingdom might be able to begin on May 17, with a possible wider reopening after June 21, according to the music industry' leading trade publication, Billboard. Promoters there have booked the annual Reading and Leeds music festivals for August 27-29, selling 170,000 tickets in 72 hours, according to Music Business Worldwide.

Where do you hope to find your live music?