Kevin Bronson on October 8th, 2020

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With the future of independent music venues in jeopardy (and the end having already arrived for some), YouTube Music and the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) have teamed up for the Save Our Stages Fest (#SOSFest), a three-day online benefit.

The event, Oct. 16-18, features an intimate set from Foo Fighters and performances by the likes of Brittany Howard, Dave Matthews, Dillon Francis, Phoebe Bridgers, the Roots, Marshmello & Demi Lovato, Kelsea Ballerini, Miley Cyrus and YG, among others. Reggie Watts will serve as host.

“The smaller music venues and the ones that are really struggling are not only culturally important, they are emotionally important,” Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl said in today’s festival announcement. Proceeds will go to the NIVA Emergency Relief Fund.

In all, more than 35 artists will be recorded live from 25 venues across the country. Los Angeles will be repped by the Hotel Café, the Troubadour, the Teragram Ballroom and the Whisky.

The festival comes as a Congressional stalemate has thwarted a pandemic relief package that includes provisions to help desperate venues. Legislation that includes the Save Our Stages Act has cleared the House of Representatives, only to be mired in partisan disputes over the breadth of the relief.

“We have been sounding the alarm since April that if our members don’t get emergency assistance, they will go under forever — and it’s happening,” said NIVA’s Audrey Fix Schaefer in a statement earlier this week. “This is real. We need help. We urge Congress and the White House to continue negotiations and reach a deal quickly or there will be a mass collapse of this industry. The Save Our Stages Act has already passed the House and has strong bipartisan support with more than 160 Congresspeople cosponsoring because they know independent venues can be part of our country’s economic renewal once it’s safe to welcome people back — if our venues can survive this pandemic. We’re also hoping for the sake of our furloughed employees that the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance will be extended, as people are suffering through no fault of their own.”

In today’s festival announcement, Troubadour general manager Christine Karayan said the event provides a ray of hope. “During this shutdown, all the uncertainties we have and are experiencing have been very unnerving and have caused a high level of despair,” she said. “That is why we are so happy and beyond grateful to all the fans and music community for banding together to help and to show their support and love to all the independent venues across the country. This is our light and hope in our time of darkness.”

The participating artists and venues are as follows:

Adam Melchor – Hotel Café, Alec Benjamin – Hotel Café, Bea Miller – Teragram Ballroom, Black Pumas – The Parish (Austin, TX), Brittany Howard – Ryman Auditorium (Nashville, TN), Brothers Osborne – Mercy Lounge (Nashville, TN), Cautious Clay – World Cafe Live (Philadelphia, PA), Dave Matthews – Jefferson Theater (Charlottesville, VA), Dillon Francis – Teragram Ballroom, Dizzy Fae – First Avenue (Minneapolis, MN), Finneas – Teragram Ballroom, Foo Fighters – Troubadour, G-Eazy – The Independent (San Francisco, CA), Gus Dapperton – Le Poisson Rouge (New York, NY), Jason Mraz – Belly Up (San Diego, CA), JP Saxe – Troubadour, Kelsea Ballerini – Exit/In (Nashville, TN), Leon Bridges – Troubadour, Little Big Town – Exit/In (Nashville, TN), The Lumineers – Boulder Theater (Boulder, CO), Marshmello & Demi Lovato – Troubadour, Macklemore – Neumos (Seattle, WA), Major Lazer – Gramps (Miami, FL), Miley Cyrus – Whisky a Go Go, Monica – Center Stage (Atlanta, GA), Nathaniel Rateliff – Boulder Theater (Boulder, CO), Phoebe Bridgers – Troubadour, Portugal. The Man – Crystal Ballroom (Portland, OR), Reba McEntire – Ryman Auditorium (Nashville, TN), The Revivalists – Tipitina’s (New Orleans, LA), Rise Against – Metro (Chicago, Il), The Roots – Apollo Theater (New York, NY), Sebastián Yatra – Amaturo Theater (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), and YG – Troubadour.