More than 150 concerts booked for long weekend
With the stay-at-home order over in Wisconsin, live music is starting to come back to life.
Collectively, across the state, bars, clubs, restaurants, wineries, campgrounds and other businesses have created Facebook pages for 158 live music events for this Memorial Day weekend. That doesn’t include streaming-only performances or concerts that were called off.
There won’t be gigs in Milwaukee and Madison this weekend, where group restrictions continue due to the coronavirus pandemic. And some of the planned shows could fall through.
But having that many shows is a sign that there is energy, and caution, behind bringing back live music.
The holiday weekend arrives a little more than a week after the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down Gov. Tony Evers’ extended stay-at-home order for the state, which was scheduled to end May 26, the day after Memorial Day.
Not all venues that can open are opening. X-Ray Arcade in Cudahy will continue to be closed for the foreseeable future, owner Nick Woods posted on the venue’s Facebook page.
And many Wisconsin bands aren’t returning to the stage yet either. In a Facebook post, the owner of Sunset Bar & Grill in Fort Atkinson wrote that a
few of the bands the bar had booked for this Friday through Monday “are not comfortable with the crowds yet.”
Nevertheless, Sunset was able to find replacements, and is planning for live music each day of the holiday weekend.
“It’s been hard just being at home, not being able to play music for people and seeing all the smiling faces and everything.” Zac Matthews Country artist
‘We’re excited as hell’
And while many venues reopening with music are easing in with a show or two, some have multiple events booked. The Nauti Turtle in Fremont, McSweet’s Irish Pub in Black River Falls, Gordy’s Boat House in Fontana and Vino Etcetera in Oconomowoc each have four shows planned.
Anchor Bar & Grill in Edgerton has six shows set for Memorial Day weekend.
“We’re excited as hell,” said Zac Matthews, a country artist based in Milton who is filling in for one of the acts that canceled at Sunset Bar & Grill. His band will play there Monday; they’ve also lined up a gig at The Old Rock, a bar in Columbus, for Sunday.
“It’s been hard just being at home, not being able to play music for people and seeing all the smiling faces and everything,” Matthews said.
That’s not the only thing he’s missed: Matthews said his band has lost out on $70,000 in revenue since show cancellations began two months ago.
“We’re going to do this, obviously, as safely as we can,” Matthews said. “The shows aren’t going to be the same as they once were. It’ll be a whole different way of organizing our events from here on out for the foreseeable future.”
Matthews said he’ll be bypassing the typical hugs and high fives and photo ops he has with fans at shows, and the band is looking into how, or if, it will sell merchandise.
Before Evers’ order was stuck down by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. issued guidelines for reopening.
Among the recommendations: Two bar stools should remain empty between guests at bars and patios; venues should ensure a six-foot distance between individuals whenever possible; and gatherings at programmed events should include a process to gather participant information for possible contact tracing in the future.
Tuning into recovery
Paulie’s Pub and Eatery in West Allis is opening its doors to guests Friday, the morning after the Milwaukee County’s stay-at-home order expires. That night, the bar will host local alternative rock band King Kong. Sunday is a double bill, with local Iron Maiden tribute act Ace Is High, and local Metallica tribute act Master of Puppets.
It’s been a tough time for owner Paul Budiac. With about 600 apartments being constructed in the area, he spent thousands overhauling his 16-year-old business last year, installing a new kitchen, bathrooms, floor, ceiling, sprinkler system, and heating and air conditioning unit.
Two months after the renovations ended, he had to scale back to curbside service. Sales dropped nearly 73%, he said.
Budiac has been busy sanitizing his place to get ready for Friday. When Paulie’s reopens, customers will see all the employees wearing face masks, and can wear masks themselves, and they will be using individually wrapped plastic utensils. All employees will be thermalchecked, Budiac said, and employees will monitor the room to ensure there’s social distancing.
Advance tickets will be required for the shows, priced at $10 each, Budiac said. He’s limiting tickets to 60 for each show, anticipating about 75 people at his bar each night, including the bands, guests and employees.
“Last year, with (King Kong) playing on a Friday night on this weekend, even with festivals going on, I would have had up to 300 people,” Budiac said.
‘I can sleep at night’
The Blind Horse Restaurant and Winery in Kohler is reopening with live music on its patio Friday night, with musicians Barbara Stephen and Peter Mac. The Abler Boys play the patio Saturday night. It’s the first step in a phased reopening that includes the winery reopening May 28, and the restaurant reopening for dine-in service June 5.
The restaurant closed two days after attempting curbside service in March, general manager Tom Nye said. He had to let go 75 employees; they all have been hired back.
“I couldn’t figure out a way to do it safely, and I got really scared for our staff,” Nye said of attempting curbside in March. “Customers ended up inside the building. The whole thing was unorganized.”
They worked out the kinks when relaunching curbside service last week, and Nye said they’ve invested thousands in new sanitation methods for inside, including UV lights, a sanitation spray and new air filtration system.
When guests come for the music this weekend, they’ll be greeted by a host wearing a mask who will guide them to their seats, Nye said. If lines become an issue, he said the restaurant will consider a reservation system for shows the rest of the season.
All employees will wear masks, and all customers will order drinks from wait staff instead of at the bar. Nye said there won’t be multiple food runners for each table, and pens used by guests to sign checks will be separated and sanitized before going back in rotation.
“There’ll be sanitizing lotion and spray everywhere,” he said.
Employees will monitor restrooms to reduce capacity, and tables on the patio will be spaced six feet apart. Nye said they are also installing some tents and getting more tables to place on a lawn that typically hasn’t been used for guests during outdoor concerts.
Nye anticipates they’ll be able to have between 90 and 110 people for each show.
“I can sleep at night knowing I have done everything I can for my customers and my employees,” he said. “To have this outdoor patio … we are well positioned to move forward in this new world. … For a holiday weekend, to have live music and be outdoors and feel human again, was everything.”
‘I am a little hesitant … ‘
Many of the gigs scheduled around Wisconsin this weekend will be outdoors, and some event pages suggest shows will be canceled instead of relocated inside if there’s bad weather.
Playing outside, instead of in a bar full of people, brought some peace of mind for Waukesha-based singer-songwriter Alyssia Dominguez, who’ll perform at Gordy’s Boat House in Fontana Sunday night. She said she’ll have to bypass her typical meet-and-greets with fans and may wear a mask during breaks in her set.
“I am a little hesitant … but I have to make a living at the same time,” said Dominguez, a full-time musician playing one to two shows every weekend before the pandemic hit. “I am going to do the best I can to take the precautions needed. … People need something to lift their spirits right now, and I totally believe that music does that.”
Will audiences come out?
But how many people will actually venture out to see live music in Wisconsin this weekend remains to be seen.
After the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down Evers’ order May 13, photos and videos of packed bars went viral. But an analysis of cellphone data by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and USA TODAY suggested only a 3% increase in total movement statewide.
According to a poll by Nielsen Music and MRC Data, 21% of respondents said they wouldn’t go to a concert for five months after the pandemic ends — and it is still ongoing. Aside from a few outliers — including a show with significant social distancing in Arkansas Monday, and some drive-in concerts, including a surprise show from Keith Urban for hospital workers — the live music industry is still frozen, and most venues are closed indefinitely.
That sparked the formation last month of the National Independent Venues Alliance, a coalition of more than 1,600 independent venues and promoters, co-founded by Pabst Theater Group CEO Gary Witt, that is lobbying Congress for support. And in addition to venues being closed, several festivals in the City of Festivals, and across the state, are canceled or postponed for this summer.
Milwaukee rock band Bad Boy, a festival staple in the region since the 1970s, is playing SoLu Estate Winery’s outdoor bandshell in Cascade on Memorial Day. But with festival appearances, private parties and wedding gigs all scrapped, frontman Randall “Xeno” Hogan isn’t anticipating a typically busy summer for the band.
“I do 170 dates a year. Not this year,” he said.