Save Our Stages Fest to Support Venues Planned for Oct 16-18
ConcertsIndustryMusicmusic festivalsTop Story
October 15, 2020
Dave Clark 0
A full bill awaits music fans this weekend as the Save Our Stages Fest will run live streamed performances from Friday, October 16 through Sunday, October 18. The event, put on by the National Independent Venue Association, “aims to generate significant awareness, advocacy and donations for the NIVA Emergency Relief Fund, directly supporting our most vulnerable venues experiencing catastrophic revenue loss,” according to the event website.
Artists participating in the event, co-sponsored by YouTube, include headliners from numerous genres. Foo Fighters, The Roots, Major Lazor, Dave Matthews, Reba McEntire, The Lumineers, Little Big Town and more dot the event schedule. The performances will be taking place on venue stages throughout the country, including Tipitina’s, Ryma Auditorium, Apollo Theater, Whisky A Go-Go and others.
In addition to raising funding for the NIVA Emergency Relief Fund, the event hopes to engage music fans to urge their local representatives to support the Save Our Stages Act. That act aims to provide up to $10 billion in funding to live entertainment venues, to help them survive the forced shutdown brought on by the coronavirus.
“This is our final push to Congress and there won’t be another opportunity,” the event website says. “We need our elected officials to come together on COVID-19 assistance in the coming days, not weeks or even months. NIVA members are small, independent businesses, which normally contribute billions of dollars to local economies, but are on the precipice of mass collapse if this critical funding doesn’t come through. Use your voice!”
House Democrats included the Save Our Stages Act in the recently passed $2.2 trillion HEROES Act, but the U.S. Senate has not yet taken action on the bill while White House and other officials negotiate over the scale of relief needed. NIVA has been clear with its opinion that without further intervention by government authorities, it is likely that an enormous number of live entertainment companies and venues will fail before the pandemic is over.
More information about the festival and a link to subscribe and set reminders for various performances is available at Saveourstages.com. The full event lineup as of Thursday afternoon is available below:
Save Our Stages Fest to Support Venues Planned for Oct 16-18