A month ago, Dr. Fauci gave us a glimmer of hope and said that with the vaccine rollout, he was hopeful that live concerts would be able to return by the fall. The CEO of Live Nation, Michael Rapino, had optimism that beat out that timeline.
Based on conversations that he is having with governors in various U.S., he stated that “a clear outline to a 75% to 100% capacity for outdoor U.S. events in 2021 was looking likely to be green-lit.”
To Rapinoe, waiting for a higher bar capacity allows artists to get paid properly. He stated that he’s seeing fans excited to get back to shows (a feeling that all of us at GDE know!) as soon as they get the green light.
The world is chomping at the bit. The UK announced a timeline to reopen by June. Live Nation acted accordingly putting up tickets for Reading and Leeds festival, which is taking place in late August. Tickets also went up for Creamfields. Both festivals sold out in a matter of days.
Rapino states that even if certain states are not ready, they will carry on in the markets that are. Taking advantage of the warmer weather would be key, especially in the southern states where that weather lasts longer.
The Recording Academy recently conducted a virtual panel filled with live music experts. Michael Dorf of City Winery gave a guesstimate that the summer would have a re-opening of venues, while the fall would have some limited capacity.
Live Nation has been optimistic, stating that artists are calling and looking to start up in July, August and September. Let’s hope this holds to be true.
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