MUSICIANS STRUGGLING SINCE THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED
WHILE the decision taken by the government to close pubs across the country as a coronavirus containment measure obviously had a major impact on publicans, staff and suppliers, one group affected that hasn’t perhaps garnered the same attention is musicians.
Without sounding melodramatic, for many Leo Varadkar’s announcement was ‘the day the music died’ as professional gigging musicians saw dates fall off their calendar and were faced with the possibility of being unable to earn for the foreseeable future.
One of the foremost wedding and function bands in the country, Divine Invention stand to have lost some 40 gigs should this thing trundle on until the end of May as predicted. As well as playing in pubs and nightclubs across the country, the band also play a lot of weddings. With government guidelines pulling the plug on any large gatherings, the band have been picking up the pieces ever since.
‘I’d be in touch with brides every day and you do build up a kind of friendship with them,’ said Frank Meagher, band manager and bass player. ‘Then this comes up all of a sudden and you just feel so sorry for them. Luckily, we’ve been able to re-accommodate all of our wedding couples bar one so far. I’ve got to say the managers and events planners at the hotels have been absolutely brilliant to deal with. I’ve never seen so much unity in the industry. The hotels have been great and even bands have been helping each other out when they’re not available for certain dates and that type of thing. It’s really good to see.’
Initially, as the measures were announced that there were to be no indoor gatherings of more than 100 people, it made for a difficult decision for some wedding couples.
‘We played one wedding where there was due to be 190 people, but the bride and groom had to cut it down to 99 to comply with regulations,’ he said. ‘They had taken the decision to go ahead and, in the end, we made the best of it and we had a great night.’
While Frank has been busy trying to re-accommodate wedding couples, he does have this advice.
‘I suppose it’s important for couples who have their big day booked for June, July and August not to panic just yet,’ he said. ‘It’s important that they link in with the events co-ordinators at their hotels, as ultimately they’ll call the shots.’
Meanwhile, with the band very much off the road for now, they’re trying to make the best of it.
‘We’re all trying to learn some new songs and practice from home at the moment,’ said Frank.
‘It’s something that we haven’t been able to do for a while because it’s been so busy. We just really hope that the whole thing recovers. It’s such a difficult time for people who are self-employed in particular. There isn’t much support out there for us and we still have things like insurance and upkeep on vans etc to pay. It’s just a matter of holding out and waiting to get back to work.’