IS LIVE MUSIC OFFICIALLY BACK? KINDA.

Breaking news out of New Orleans came recently when city officials announced on March 10th that live music would be making a return to venues such as bars and concert halls starting the 12th, marking the first time live music will officially be back in the US since COVID forced closures of such venues worldwide. It seems that the introduction of the vaccine has helped with the gradual reopening of certain places and activities that were completely ravished by the threat of the virus, namely sports arenas opening to a reduced percent of full capacity and now with these aforementioned venues allowing for love music. While this is a huge step as we try to claw ourselves back to normalcy as a society, let's take a step back and examine this decision and what it entails. 

Despite these openings, public places must still adhere to the state guidelines in terms of capacity. In Louisiana: 75% capacity is allowed in restaurants, salons, movie theaters, museums and offices. 50% capacity allowed in bars, breweries, gyms, fitness centers and conference venues. 75% capacity with a 250 max in concert and music halls with fixed permanent seating. And of course, masks are still required. new Orleans seems to be in a good position to allow for live music, as its COVID positivity rate is down to 1.5% when it was as high as 10.4% 3 months ago and around 21.4% of its residents have received at least one vaccine dose.

There was also a new set of rules introduced for live musicians based on what instrument they will be playing. Pianists and string instrument musicians have just have to abide by the typical mask mandate and six feet of social distancing. However, if you're a wind or brass musician, a whole new set of rules is in play. Wind and brass musicians are required to wear face masks with openings specifically catering the the shape of the mouthpiece of their respective instruments. Those instruments must be fitted with a bell cover whenever it is outside of its case. Wind and brass musicians must also sit an extended nine feet apart from each other. Additionally, open mics and karaoke or any other activities that would encourage patrons to partake in the music are still prohibited. Arguably, the biggest restriction that came with the reintroduction of live music is that dancing for patrons is not allowed.

I'm a huge advocate for protecting our musicians who are performing live music, as everyone should, and it's finally great that after a tumultuous year for musicians that they're getting their first big break. However, I'm not sure how I feel about requiring wind and brass musicians to wear a mask while playing their instruments and simply having a hole in the mask that fits the mouthpiece. A mask with a hole is practically useless, especially a hole sizable enough to fit a mouthpiece. Given social distancing parameters in place, those musicians should be able to freely play their instruments without a mask hindering them in any way; if patrons are eating food without creating a hole in their masks then the same can be said for these instrumentalists. I think the thought process behind that mandate is good-rooted and is meant to prioritize the health of our musicians, which is of the utmost importance in this situation. My only concern about that rule is that during the times they are on stage and not playing, will they be forced to wear their masks with the hole in it or will they have separate functioning masks with them? It would make much more sense for them to have singular hole-less masks on their persons that they can freely put on and take off depending on if they're playing or not. I think having them wear masks while playing gives off the a pseudo-safety impression when in actuality a hole-less mask offers virtually no protection. And the concern about musicians potentially infecting patrons is addressed already by requiring bell covers on the instruments at all times when they are out of their cases. It's a challenging concept to address, but I personally think it can be changed to make our musicians safer. 

Also, it's unfortunate that patrons won't be able to fully immerse themselves in the music since they won't be allowed to dance, though I 100% agree with that decision for the safety of both patrons and musicians.

We should pay attention to how New Orleans handles this and how the COVID rates are impacted there. Its success (or failure) could be contingent on other cities' abilities to offer live music once again. The city's seems to be focusing hard on keeping everyone safe with this new reintroduction of live music and I think they can manage it well and set a standard for other cities to follow. Only time will tell, so let's hope for the best.