Artists rely on concerts for their livelihood but they face a precarious choice as live music returns.
The music of the Mountain Goats lives on stage.
Live shows are “among the oldest things humans do,” notes the 54-year-old singer.
The Scottish band Chvrches were totally broken out of their touring routine by the pandemic — and used the time to make a new album.Kevin Winter/Getty Images
“To gather is a communal, spiritual, and arguably religious experience.”
Having few or none over the past 18 months has been brutal.
But the financial benefits of live music reemerging are butting up against obstacles, both physical and mental.
Not everyone may have been masked at this year’s Lollapalooza, but vaccine mandates meant few outbreaks.Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images
“But I’m a little nervous because I don’t sleep well on the bus.
But now I’ve been at home, sleeping in my own bed, since March 16, 2020.
So it was a shock to the system when that went away.”
Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast was one of the first artists to announce a vaccine mandate for her upcoming shows.Amy Harris/Invision/AP
It may be an even bigger shock coming back.
Chvrches used the break to make their latest album,Screen Violence, over Zoom.
“I realized I needed to start singing more,” Mayberry says.
“I’ll sing to figure out the demos that we’re doing or for the final takes.
I don’t really do any singing other than that.
That’s bizarre, to have gone from nine years singing all the time, day in day out.
I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I really need to do some vocal exercises.’
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And then there is the large (possibly unvaccinated) elephant in the room.
I want to double-check we’re all happy and dancing, but also healthy.”
The news has inspired musicians and promoters to begin enacting new safety protocols.
Vaccine and mask logistics are now just another thing artists have to worry about.
Others have kept already-scheduled dates while incorporating vaccine protocol into their touring to-do list.
“It’s not going to be loosey-goosey,” he says.
So a lot hinges on these shows.
And the performers too!"
“It feels like the final frontier, having a large group of people in the room enjoying something.
It’s like the pinnacle of communal gathering.
A version of this story runs in the November issue ofEntertainment Weekly, on newsstands beginning Oct. 15.
