Will We Ever See Live Music Again?

The Pitchfork Review

Pitchfork

Music, Music Commentary, Music Interviews, Music History

3.3 • 844 Ratings

🗓️ 2 October 2020

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It’s been six months since the live music industry operated under any semblance of normalcy in the U.S., thanks to COVID-19. Which means most of us haven’t seen a proper show in at least that long. When will concerts come back, and what needs to happen before they do? Are outdoor events and reduced-capacity venues safe and financially viable options? Can a livestream really match the energy of an in-person performance? On this episode, Pitchfork Editor Puja Patel is joined by two veterans of putting on shows—Kristen Kaza, co-founder of Chicago’s beloved Slo ‘Mo series of queer dance parties, and Adam Krefman, Pitchfork’s own Executive Director of Festivals—to discuss those questions, as well as their own experiences with navigating the pandemic’s challenges

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is the Pitchfork review. I'm Pooja Patel, the editor of Pitchfork. One of the biggest things
0:08.1	music fans have been worried about since COVID hit is the absence of live music, and also
0:13.0	when it might return. This year, we had Pitchfork had to cancel our annual summer music festival
0:18.4	in Chicago and our festivals in Paris and Berlin.
0:22.7	So we have a lot invested in the state of live music, and probably a little more insight than most.
0:28.4	For this episode, we talked to some friends in Chicago to hear about how live music is faring now
0:33.0	and what the future might hold. With us is Adam Krefman, the executive director of Pitchfork's music festivals and events,
0:40.9	and Kristen Khasa of No Small Plans Productions.
0:44.3	Kristen produces inclusive events like her beloved dance party slow-mo, which has been celebrating
0:49.5	queer culture and community for the past nine years.
0:53.7	I think let's just start with what is the state of COVID in Chicago right now?
0:59.8	Like, are any venues open?
1:02.5	Does anything seem to be on the path to reopening?
1:07.6	Well, not many venues are open.
1:12.7	Yeah.
1:13.0	There's a handful that are able to do, I think, up to 50-person capacity.
1:17.9	You know, for a lot of venues opening at that capacity would mean operating at a loss.
1:23.1	Right.
1:23.6	And I think that also a lot of the venue owners, they're out of respect and care for the well-being of their guests, of their staff, and trying to be really precocious about that as well.
1:37.3	Yeah. So what would usually be happening? Let's imagine a pre-COVID time, which feels ancient now. But if there was no COVID-19 right now,
1:49.2	what would be on the horizon for both of you? Well, this is usually a very busy time of year.
1:57.5	There's Expo, which is the largest art fair in the Midwest that would be happening around this time and all the corresponding events that are happening for that.
	...

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