"In a year like 2020, it’s imperative that we build community, because if we don’t, we will have no communities left. It’s the communal aspect of people getting together in a room to have this shared experience where everybody is there because they love live music. There’s nothing like live music. That’s what we all live for.” — Bob Mould, former Husker Du frontman and longtime touring solo artist.
The above quote is from an interview CityBeat did with Bob Mould in March 2020, just days before COVID-19 put a halt to his and every other musician’s live bookings. The pandemic shut down music venues across the country literally overnight, affecting the entire live-music infrastructure from top to bottom.
Mould’s quote was an answer to a question about why he, a guy who has brought his trademark brand of guitar fury to venues for nearly four decades now, still gets juiced to perform live. His phrase “in a year like 2020” was in reference to our contentious political climate and an election season that turned out to be even more anxiety-inducing than anticipated.
Then COVID hit, a gut punch that has challenged communities far and wide like no other event in more than a century. Bars, restaurants, theaters and music venues were especially vulnerable given the nature of how they operate: large indoor gatherings of people in close proximity. Some venues reduced operations radically. Most closed down completely.
Yet there is finally some light on the horizon as vaccines become readily available and restrictions begin to loosen. National acts have announced tours for this fall, and multiple local venues have announced plans to reopen.
Dan McCabe has been a staple on the local live music scene for nearly 30 years, most recently as the owner and operator of MOTR Pub and The Woodward in Over-the-Rhine.
“We may soon start booking The Woodward for this fall,” McCabe says when asked about the possibility of opening in the near future. “Several touring opportunities are available, including some strong local releases in need of celebrating. There are already a lot of 2022 fall bookings happening. That’s unusually far out into the future for agencies and bands to be pursuing. Being open-floor rooms, we are prone to the social distancing mandate at both MOTR and The Woodward. We are hoping vaccines help Ohio lift this requirement soon so we may announce and put shows on sale with confidence.”
Perhaps the most noted local venue development is the brand-new Andrew J Brady ICON Music Center, which looks to open its doors by late summer. Located at The Banks just east of Paul Brown Stadium, ICON is a versatile state-of-the-art venue that features both indoor (at a capacity 4,400) and outdoor (at a capacity of 8,000) stages.
“It kind of fills a niche that isn’t being filled right now in the marketplace,” says Rosemarie Moehring, director of marketing at MEMI, which will manage shows at ICON and has long handled the Taft Theatre and Riverbend Music Center. “There’s no indoor capacity venue that is intimately built for 4,400, so we expect to see a range of acts. We can do multiple configurations. We can do just an all-general attendance floor; we can do an all-seated floor and close off the balconies. It allows us to do everything from comedians to some of the smaller club acts or a bigger act.” (As of press time, ICON’s announced lineup includes Machine Gun Kelly on Sept. 22 for its outdoor stage and the Flaming Lips on April 5 for its indoor stage.)
In a nod to post-COVID realities, Moehring says ICON features a special ionized HVAC system to improve indoor circulation and touchless bathroom fixtures and concession stands. But, otherwise, the audience experience is likely to be much as it was before the shutdown.
“We need it to be 100% capacity in order for it to make financial sense for us to start doing concerts again,” Moehring says. “Some venues have been able to do social distancing and things like that, but at Riverbend or the Taft Theatre, it doesn’t make sense. (Ohio Governor Mike) DeWine has been lifting restrictions gradually and increasing capacities at a regular rate as cases continue to go down, that’s why our target is to open in mid-to-late summer.”
Across the river, the Southgate House Revival reopened last summer at limited capacity, hosting mostly local and regional acts. The venue’s general manager, Morrella Raleigh, has done the best she can to keep things positive over the last year.
“Small venues have always faced a lot of challenges, and I think in some ways, we were better prepared to handle this than some other businesses,” Raleigh says. “It did serve as a big reminder that we all need to be flexible and work toward new ways of bringing live music to people. It’s been a huge reminder to stay on our toes and not take anything for granted.”
That said, Raleigh is ready for things to get back to as close to “normal” as possible — not only for her venue and its employees, but also for audiences and the general music community.
“Live music is truly magical,” Raleigh says. “It connects people on a deep and real level that doesn’t happen very often in our world today. When you’re at a great show and everyone is really getting into it, there’s a special energy in the air that just makes you feel good.”
Ian Bolender, who books shows through locally based Nederlander Entertainment, also is eager for live music to work its magic again. Nederlander handles the Madison Theater and Madison Live in Covington, as well as the 20th Century Theater in Oakley and the Heritage Bank Center (formerly U.S. Bank Arena) downtown.
“The live music community is all I know,” Bolender says. “In addition to booking and promoting shows for Nederlander, I run cincymusic.com with my brother and sister. When I was a young musician, this community welcomed me with open arms. I found a lot of mentors along the way, and we try our best to provide that same sense of community to young aspiring artists and music fans. We have been doing livestreams and holding benefits to help make sure some of our local treasures don’t go out of business. We all need to make it to the other side. I’m hopeful that we are close, but until we can open up at 100% safely, we aren’t out of the woods.”
Bolender believes the local music community is resilient and might even grow closer than ever through the adversity.
"At the end of the day, we are all music lovers, and no one wants to see a venue shut down or a promoter stop doing shows,” he says. “We’ve been fighting for each other for the past year, and I think we will see a bit more comradery in the months and years to come."
For upcoming concerts and other music news, visit each venue’s website: woodwardtheater.com, motrpub.com, memi.biz, southgatehouse.com and nederlanderentertainment.com.
Editor's note: After press time, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced that the state would lift nearly all health orders on June 2. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear also is gradually rescinding the Commonwealth's health orders, saying that the bar and restaurant curfew would go away on May 28.
