The live music is facing an unprecedented crisis. Almost all music venues in the country have been closed since March, and the entire live music industry is watching to see if Congress can come together to pass a bipartisan bill that will offer venues some relief. Currently Congress is considering two such bills: the RESTART and Save Our Stages Acts.
Today we're joined by two members of the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA): Gary Witt, president of the Pabst Theater Group, and Kelsey Kaufmann, owner of Cactus Club. Both paint the picture of an industry in dire straits.
"We had hoped for at least a little better certainty of what our future is," Witt says.
"The number one thing that each of these groups needs is money," he explains. "We've been out of business since the 15th of March. We have zero revenue coming in, and we're not a business that can open at 25% capacity ... We are dependent on revenue coming in to be able to continue to operate our businesses."
"Music venues are the cultural anchors of our communities," Kaufmann says.
Both are asking people to go to SaveOurStages.com to sign a petition calling congress to action.
Hear them talk about the economic impact of live music and just how daunting the outlook for many music venues is right now on this week's episode.
