PATIOS TO REOPEN IN T.O. BUT WILL THERE BE LIVE MUSIC..?

 It is going to be a beautiful weekend here in Toronto and the 1st Stage of reopening is upon us as we are now permitted to gather in groups of 10 or less outdoors and even get together in groups of 4 to sit and have a drink on the patio of our choice. Lordy knows the bars need the business. What is not clear, however, is if there will be Live Music permitted on these patios to entertain the diners, especially in establishments that have made Live Music their draw. 

Officially the word is "No Live Performances on Patios for Stage 1". There is also no lifting of the ban on Indoor Live Stream performances which has been in place for a few months now. Outdoor rehearsals and performances for the purposes of live-streaming are permitted, however, with 3m distancing rules and 10 person limits. Plexiglas will not be required for these activities. Below are a couple of Highlights from the Reopening Ontario website:

Live outdoor music on patios can resume in 21 days if and when we move into Stage 2 of reopening, although presently I cannot find anything except outdoor Karaoke permitted. Shudder. 

Here is a link to the regulations for Stage 1 and onwards: https://www.ontario.ca/page/reopening-ontario

With all this in mind I and others have started to organize outdoor rehearsals for the musical projects we are involved with. I am happy to announce that The Cheshire Cat Jazz Band (featuring Joe VR, Jaimie MacP, Chris D and myself) will be rehearsing in the parking lot of Smokeshow Barbecue on Saturday June 12th from 3-6pm and The Don Valley Stompers (featuring Chuck C, Jacqueline C, Ralph P, Chris D and myself) will rehearse in the Grossmans Tavern parking lot on Sunday June 13th, 3-6pm. Please do keep in mind that these are rehearsals but tips will be happily accepted from passers by and patio patrons alike. 

Of course these will not be regular occurring events. My other project Frankie Foo and The Yoyo Smugglers plan to outdoor rehearse the following weekend at an undisclosed location and The York Jazz Ensemble will be starting outdoor rehearsals at the beginning of Stage 2, in July.

When Stage 2 is upon us and we are looking towards a Stage 3 (again, another 21 days after) reopening it will be important to note that a return to indoor performance may look very different from what we were used to pre pandemic. Limited seating, size limits on performance groups, limited duration of stay will all come into play. Then there's the money.

I am still wondering how everybody is going to get paid. I know everyone keeps talking about deep pockets out there due to a large saved up bit of disposable income but are people ready to shell out $20 a head reservations for one set of music at their favourite bar/venue? The bars that paid before are going to have to rethink things as are the bandleaders. 

Here is how a Frenchman Street bar in NOLA is going about charging admission. There are 4 or 5 shows per day and tickets are available per individual at a shared table or you can buy the whole table. I do understand that this is New Orleans, a music Mecca tourist destination, and not Toronto, but the concept is a sound one. 

The thing we cannot do is undercut our fellow musicians at this time! What we charge coming out of this pandemic is what the venue and bar owners will think we are worth so it is important to get things right straight away. $100 per player has been the BARE MINIMUM we as musicians have be accepting for a very long time. Since more and more bar owners are putting the onus on musicians to secure payment it is up to us to come up with a plan and up to us to sell it to other musicians to avoid undercutting. 

I am happy to discuss. Please do reach out! 

Go support your local bar owner and order a drink and some food on their patio today! Talk to your local peeps about outdoor events that can feature live music! We gotta get creative here! A better system is there if we want it, we just have to create it and promote it!

Have an awesome weekend!