I’ve recently really been feeling the severe lack of ability to both play and see live music as the virus has been upon us for 9 months now. I’ve been seeing a lot of other folks posting about this recently, as well. You might have, too. As venues seem to be slowly, and sadly, biting the dust around the country and the world, it makes us yearn for them even more.
Venues are spaces of community. We gather in them to have shared experiences and shared emotions.
But as I’ve been thinking about this loss, I’ve also been thinking about all of the people for whom venues and music spaces more broadly— everything from music stores to online forums, have not been a place of community and belonging.
That feeling of longing is something that others feel most of the time— not just in a pandemic. And that feeling can turn into learned helplessness when you wait and yearn for music spaces to become what you need them to be, with no reciprocation. Eventually, some folks give up because they learn that it’s not worth it— they learn that these spaces, and the ability to create and share music, may never be a place for them.
When I think about the power of music— what it’s provided me in my life, and if you are reading this, what it’s probably provided you in yours— my greatest want is that everyone feels like they can participate in music in whatever way they deem appropriate as their fullest selves— as a musicians, as a fans, as a producers or engineers, as a bookers, as pedal builders, and the like.
I hope that this new feeling of longing for many of us can help us tap into the importance of making change in these spaces so that no one has to feel this feeling in the future. When we gather back together in venues, in stores, in workplaces, I hope we can come together to make them better than they were when we left them.