From concert venues receiving social-distancing warnings at the beginning of February, spring tours of notable artists nationwide being cancelled or postponed, to now box offices becoming a ghost town – the future of live performance is being altered each minute. 

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, concert venues and artists are being hit with new information and restrictions continuously. To put it into perspective, the ever-popular music festival Coachella has been postponed until Oct. 9-11, and 16-18. Now, rather than extravagant stages being set up on the concert grounds, COVID-19 triage tents are now being built in their place, a Los Angeles Times article details.

Even so, much is up in the air about postponing concerts to later this year, especially when some experts have noted that concerts will likely not be able to safely operate until mid-late 2021.

In an interview with The New York Times, director of the Healthcare Transformation Institute at the University of Pennsylvania predicts that concerts may resume, “fall 2021 at the earliest.”

On a smaller scale, the toll that this has taken upon performers residing in Arizona has been evident. Take Arizonan 23-year-old Madi Kohn, a bass musician, producer, and DJ who has performed across the valley for 2 years now. 

“Shutting down all shows and venues has taken away the live performance aspect and being able to connect with the audience during the set,” Kohn explains. 

Like many other performers, Kohn has resorted to partnering with others and live-streaming her DJ sets. On a brighter note, this uncertain time has given her some time to privately work on new music that she plans to release in the future. In addition, she continues to promote her music through platforms such as Soundcloud and Instagram. Although not expecting to perform for a few more months at least, Kohn remains optimistic. 

“It’s a lot of adapting since live shows were vital in exposure for artists, but everyday we’re learning,” Kohn says. 

But what do the venues themselves have to do in order to re-open? 

That answer in itself is ever-changing. Because of the lack of continuity between the state and its venues, venues will be in the position where they may have to take cleaning and sanitation matters into their own hands. However, there will likely be some guidelines that remain intact throughout the cleaning and sanitation process. 

Reopening concert venues will be in phase two of President Trump’s Opening Up America Again plan. 

“Large venues…can operate under moderate physical distancing protocols,” phase two details under the “Specific Types of Employers” section. 

Sanitation guidelines will likely vary state-by-state until further notice. Once the date to reopen concert venues becomes more solidified, venues will enforce their own form of sanitation measures as means to reach the “new normal.”