Will live music see a second lockdown as COVID cases grow?

Is live music endanger of another shutdown as new US COVID cases rise from 12,000 – 15,000 per day in mid-June to 61,965 on July 20th?

Similar trends hold true globally with new cases reported rising from 290,597 on June 15 to 535,332 a month later on July 15.

Making matters worse, 83% of the new US cases are caused by the Delta variant which appears to be at least twice as infectious as the original COVID strain.

So far, government officials in the US have shown little appetite for going back into lockdown, but that could change.

Will Fans Feel Safe?

The greater threat to the return of live music may be fan fears more than full lockdowns.

The UK’s Glastonbury Festival has canceled a September event, and headlines like “1000 New Cases Of Coronavirus Linked To Dutch Music Festival” naturally sparked concerns

So far fan euphoria over the return of live music has led to early sellouts. Promoter and venues – some buoyed by newly received SVOG grants – are pushing forward with very active schedules.

But as the more contagious strain spreads and breakthrough cases are reported in high-profile settings like the Olympics and US Capital, will fan fears grow leading them to decide to just stay home?

Bruce Houghton is Founder and Editor of Hypebot and MusicThinkTank and serves as a Senior Advisor to Bandsintown which acquired both publications in 2019. He is Founder and President of the Skyline Artists Agency and an online professor for the Berklee College Of Music.